The Potter's House.

This is the message delivered by THE LORD to Jeremiah. "Arise and go forth to the potter's house, and then I will tell you what I have to say." Therefore, I proceeded to the potter's house, where I found him working at his wheel.  Whenever the vessel he was making of clay turned out badly in his hands, he would use that clay to remold it into another vessel as he saw fit.

       Then the word of THE LORD came to me: Can I not do to you what this potter does, O house of Israel? Like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in MY hand, O house of Israel. On occasion I may threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a particular nation or kingdom. However, should that nation which I have threatened turn away from its evil ways, I will then relent and not inflict the disaster I had devised. On another occasion I may promise to build up and plant a nation or kingdom. However, if that nation follows an evil path and refuses to obey ME, then I will cease to bestow upon it the blessings that I had promised.

       Therefore, now deliver this message to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says THE LORD: Be forewarned! I am preparing a disaster for you and designing a plan against you. So now, each one of you, turn away from your evil pursuits and amend your conduct and your actions. However, they will reply, "It is no use. We intend to continue our ways and follow the wicked inclinations of our heart."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 18, VERSES 1 - 12

Judah's Apostasy

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD:

          Ask among the nations:

          Who has ever heard anything like this?

       The virgin Israel has done

          a truly horrible thing.

       Does the snow of Lebanon

          ever disappear from its rocky slopes?

       Do the torrents of gushing waters

          ever cease to flow?

       Yet MY people have forgotten ME;

          they burn incense to worthless idols,

       causing them to stumble

          as they forsake ancient roads

          to travel along unfamiliar paths.

       Their land will be laid waste,

          an object of unending scorn.

       Those who pass by will be appalled on

              beholding it

          and shake their heads.

       Like the east wind,

          I will scatter them before their enemies.

       On the day of their downfall

          I will show them MY back, not MY face.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 18, VERSES 13 - 17

Another Prayer for Vengeance.

       They then raised a cry, "Let us devise a plot against Jeremiah. We will still receive instruction from the priests. Wise men will still offer us counsel, and prophets will still proclaim the word. Therefore, let us bring charges against him and refuse to pay attention to anything he says."

       Pay heed to me, O LORD,

          and listen to what my adversaries are

              saying.

       Should good be repaid with evil?

          Now they are digging a pit for me.

       Remember how I stood before YOU,

          interceding on their behalf

          and begging YOU to turn away YOUR wrath

              from them.

       Therefore, give their children over to famine

          and abandon them to the power of the

              sword.

       Let their wives become childless and widowed;

          let their men die of pestilence

          and their young men be slain by the sword

              in battle.

       May screams be heard from their houses

          when YOU bring marauders upon them

              suddenly.

       For they have dug a pit to catch me

          and laid snares for my feet.

       Yet YOU, O LORD, are fully aware

          of all their murderous plots to slay me.

       Do not pardon their guilt

          or blot out their sin from YOUR sight.

       Let them be thrown down before YOU;

          deal with them at the height of YOUR

              anger."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 18, VERSES 18 - 23

Symbol of the Broken Jug.

Thus said the THE LORD: Go forth and purchase a potter's earthenware jug. Then take along with you some of the elders of the people and some of the priests, and go forth to the Valley of Ben-hinnom, close to the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you: Hear the word of THE LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is the message of THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I am prepared to bring such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.

       For these people have forsaken ME and have profaned this place by offering sacrifices in it to foreign gods whom neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent, building the high places of Baal to sacrifice their sons as burnt offerings to Baal. I never commanded or mentioned such a thing, nor did it ever enter MY mind.

       Therefore, the days are surely coming, says THE LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Benhinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. In this place, I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who are determined to slaughter them. Their corpses I will give as food to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

       Moreover, I will make this city an object of horror and a source of derision. Every passerby will be horrified at the sight and be amazed at the disaster it has incurred. I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and all will devour one another's flesh during the siege because of the incredible distress with which they have been afflicted by their enemies and those who seek their lives.

       Then you are to break the jug in the presence of the men who have accompanied you and say to them: Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS: In the same way I will smash this people and this city, as one smashes a potter's earthenware jug so that it can never be repaired, and the dead will be buried in Topheth until no further space for burial remains.

       This is what I am determined to do with this place and its inhabitants, says THE LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. And the houses of Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth, all of the houses upon whose roofs they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out libations to other gods.

       When Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where THE LORD had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of THE LORD's house and proclaimed to all the people, "Thus says THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I am now prepared to inflict upon this city and upon all its towns the total disaster with which I threatened it, because they have remained steadfast in their stubbornness and refused to listen to MY words."

       When the priest Pashhur, the son of Immer, who was the chief officer in the house of THE LORD, heard Jeremiah proclaiming this prophecy, he ordered him to be scourged, and then placed him in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin in the house of THE LORD.

       The next morning, after Passhur had released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "THE LORD's name for you is not Passhur but 'Terror-on-Every-Side.' For thus says THE LORD, 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. And I will deliver all Judah to the king of Babylon, and he will take the people captive and carry them off to Babylon or put them to the sword.

       " 'All the wealth of this city, all of its cherished possessions, and all of the treasures of the kings of Judah I will hand over as plunder to their enemies who will seize it and carry it off to Babylon. Furthermore, you, Passhur, and all the members of your household will be taken into captivity and led off to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends, because you have prophesied falsely to them.' "

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 19 & CHAPTER 20, VERSES 1 - 6

Jeremiah's Confession

       O LORD, YOU deceived me,

          and I allowed myself to be deceived.

       YOU were too powerful for me,

          and YOU have prevailed.

       All day long I am an object of ridicule;

          everyone mocks me.

       Whenever I speak, I must cry out;

          my message is violence and destruction.

       For the word of THE LORD has caused me to

              endure

          reproach and derision all day long.

       If I say, "I will not mention HIM

          or speak any longer in HIS name,"

       within me I experience a fire burning in my

              heart

          and imprisoned in my bones.

       I am weary holding it in,

          and I can no longer do so.

       For I hear many whispering,

          "Terror surrounds us.

          Denounce him! Let us denounce him!"

       All those who were my close friends

          are waiting for me to stumble, saying,

       "Perhaps we can trick him,

          and we will be able to prevail

          and take our revenge against him."

       But THE LORD is at my side

          like a mighty warrior.

       Therefore, my persecutors will stumble,

          and they will not prevail.

       Because of their failure,

          they will be greatly shamed,

       and the disgrace that they will endure

          will be everlasting and unforgettable.

       O LORD OF HOSTS, YOU test the righteous

          and probe the mind and the heart.

       Let me behold YOUR retribution on them,

          for to YOU I have committed my cause.

       Sing to THE LORD;

          praise THE LORD.

       For HE has rescued the life of the poor

          from the power of the wicked.

       Cursed be the day

          on which I was born!

       May the day when my mother bore me

          be forever unblessed.

       Cursed be the man

          who brought the news to my father.

       "A child, a son, has been born to you,"

          thereby bringing great joy to his heart.

       Let that man be like the cities

          that THE LORD oberthrew without mercy.

       Let him hear the cry of warning in the

              morning

          and shouts of battle at noon

       because he did not kill me in the womb.

       Then my mother would have been my grave,

          with her womb confining me forever.

       Why did I come forth from the womb

          to see toil and sorrow

          and spend my days in shame?

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 20, VERSES 7 - 18

GOD's Response to Zedekiah's Prayer.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from THE LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, with this request, "Please inquire of THE LORD on our behalf, because Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is making war against us. Perhaps THE LORD will perform one of HIS wonderful works for us as HE has done in the past and force him to withdraw."

       However, Jeremiah replied to them, "This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: Thus says THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL: I will turn against you the weapons of war with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls, and I will gather them, together in the center of the city. I MYSELF will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, fury, and great rage.

       "I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They will die as the result of a terrible plague. After that, says THE LORD, I will deliver King Zedekiah of Judah and his servants and the people, all those in this city who have managed to survive pestilence, war, and famine, into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and into the hands of their enemies and those who are determined to slay them. He will put them to the sword and show them no pity or mercy or compassion.

       "You are to say further to this people: Thus says THE LORD: Behold, I am offering you a choice between the way of life and the way of death. Whoever remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, or by pestilence, but those who leave and surrender to the Chaldeans who are now besieging you will survive and escape with their lives. For I am determined that this city must endure disaster and not revel in prosperity, says THE LORD. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it to the ground."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 21, VERSES 1 - 10

Prophecies concerning the Kings

       To the royal houses of Judah, say:

          Listen to the word of THE LORD.

       O house of David,

          thus says THE LORD:

       Dispense justice each morning

          and deliver the victim from his oppressor,

       lest MY wrath burst forth like fire

          that burns and cannot be quenched

          because of your evil deeds.

       Beware! I am against you,

          O residents of the valley,

          O rock of the plain, says THE LORD,

       you who say, "Who can possibly attack us and

              penetrate our places of refuge?"

       I will punish you, says THE LORD,

          as your deeds deserve.

       I will kindle a fire in your forests,

          and it will devour everything around it.

       Thus said THE LORD to me: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and there deliver this message: Listen to the word of THE LORD, O king of Judah, as you sit on the throne of David--you, your officials, and your people who enter through these gates. Thus says THE LORD: Act justly and with righteousness, and rescue the victim from the hand of his oppressor. Do not ill-treat aliens, orphans, and widows, or show violence toward them, or shed innocent blood in this place.

       If you will indeed be faithful in carrying out these commands, then the kings who succeed to the throne of David will continue to enter through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots or on horseback--they, their officials, and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, then I swear by MYSELF, says THE LORD, that this palace will become a ruin.

       For thus says THE LORD concerning the palace of the king of Judah:

       Although you are like Gilead to ME,

          like a peak of Lebanon,

       I swear that I will turn you into a desert,

          an uninhabited city.

       I will send forth destroyers to annihilate you,

          each man equipped with his weapons.

       They will cut down your finest cedars

          and cast them into the fire.

       People from many nations will pass by this city, and they will ask one another, "Why has THE LORD dealt in this manner with this great city?" And the answer will be given, "Because they abandoned their covenant with THE LORD, their GOD, in order to worship other gods and serve them."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 21, VERSES 11 - 14 & CHAPTER 22, VERSES 1 - 9

Jehoahaz

       Do not weep for the man who is dead;

          mourn not for him.

       Weep rather for him who has gone into exile,

          for he will never return again

          to see the land of his birth.

       For thus says THE LORD about Shallum, the son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah as king and was forced to leave this place, "He will never return. Rather, he will die in the place where he was sent into exile, and he will never see this land again."

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 22, VERSES 10 - 12

Jehoiakim

       Woe to the man who builds his house without

              righteousness

          and his upper room with injustice,

       who forces his neighbors to work for nothing

          and gives them no recompense for their

              labor,

       who says, "I will build myself a spacious

              home

          with large upper rooms,"

       and who inserts windows in it,

          panels it with cedar,

          and paints it with vermilion.

       Are you any better a king

          because your cedar is so splendid?

       Did not your father have enough to eat and

              drink?

          But because he did what was right and just,

          all went well with him.

       Because he dispensed justice to the poor and

              needy

          things continued to go well for him.

       Is this not what it means to know ME?

          asks THE LORD.

       But your eyes and your heart

          are concerned only with your own interests;

       you do not hesitate to shed innocent blood

          and to perpetrate oppression and violence.

       Therefore, thus says THE LORD concerning King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah:

       They will not lament for him, saying,

          "Alas, my brother!" or "Alas, sister!"

       They will not mourn for him.

          "Alas, my master!" "Alas, his splendor!"

       He will be buried like a dead donkey

          dragged forth and cast out

          beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 22, VERSES 13 - 19

Jeconiah

       Go up to Lebanon and cry out;

          lift up your voice in Bashan.

       Cry out from Abarim,

          for all your lovers have been crushed.

       I spoke to you when you enjoyed prosperity,

          but you replied, "I will not listen."

       You have behaved this way from your youth,

          refusing to listen to MY voice.

       The wind will carry away all your shepherds,

          and your lovers will go off into captivity.

       Then you will be ashamed and blush

          because of all your wickedness.

       You who live in Lebanon

          and make your nest among the cedars,

       how you will groan when anguish overcomes

              you,

          pangs like those of a woman in labor.

       As I live, says THE LORD, even if you, King Coniah of Judah, the son of Jehoiakim, were the signet ring on MY right hand, I would still tear you off and deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life, into the hands of those whom you fear, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hands of the Chaldeans. I will fling you and the mother who bore you into another country, where neither of you were born, and there you both will die. You will never return to the country to which you so desperately long to return.

       Is this man Coniah a despised damaged pot,

          a vessel in which no one is interested?

       Why are he and his offspring cast out

          and thrown into a land

          that they know nothing about?

       O land, land, land,

          hear the word of THE LORD!

       Thus says THE LORD:

          Designate this man as childless,

          a man who will not prosper during his

              lifetime.

       No descendant of his will succeed;

          none will sit on the throne of David

          or rule again over Judah.

JEREMIAH: CHAPTER 22, VERSES 20 - 30