Dual Panel1The Lord <03068> said <0559> to <0413> Jeremiah <03414>:
2“Go down <03381> at once to the potter’s <03335> house <01004>. I will speak <08085> to you further there <08033>.”
3So I went down <03381> to the potter’s <03335> house <01004> and found <02009> him working <04399> <06213> at his wheel <070>.
4Now and then there would be something wrong <07843> with the pot <03627> he was <01931> molding <06213> from the clay <02563> with his hands <03027>. So he would rework <06213> <07725> the clay <03335> into another <0312> kind of pot <03627> as <0834> he saw fit <05869> <03474>.
5Then the Lord <03068> said <01697> to <0413> me,
6“I, the Lord <03068>, say <05002>: ‘O nation <01004> of Israel <03478>, can <03201> I not <03808> deal <06213> with you as this <02088> potter <03335> deals with the clay <02563>? In my hands <03027>, you <0859>, O nation <01004> of Israel <03478>, are just like <03651> the clay in this potter’s <03335> hand <03027>.’
7There are times <07281>, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot <05428>, tear down <05422>, and destroy <06> a nation <01471> or kingdom <04467>.
8But if that nation <01471> I <01931> threatened <01696> stops doing <07725> wrong <07451>, I will cancel <05162> the destruction <07451> I intended <02803> to do <06213> to it.
9And there are times <07281> when I promise <01696> to build up <01129> and establish <05193> a nation <01471> or kingdom <04467>.
10But if that nation does <06213> what displeases <05869> <07451> me and does not <01115> obey <08085> me, then I will cancel <05162> the good <02896> I promised <0559> to do to it.
11So now <06258>, tell <0559> the people <0376> of Judah <03063> and the citizens <03427> of Jerusalem <03389> this <03541>: The Lord <03068> says <0559>, ‘I <0595> am preparing <03335> to bring disaster <07451> on <05921> you! I am making plans <04284> to punish <02803> you. So, every one <0376> of you, stop <07725> the evil <07451> things you have been doing <01870>. Correct <03190> the way <01870> you have been living and <04611> do what is right.’
12But they just keep saying <0559>, ‘We do not care <02976> what <03588> you say <04284>! We will do <01980> whatever we <0376> want to do! We will continue to behave <06213> wickedly <07451> and stubbornly <08307>!’”
13Therefore <03651>, the Lord <03068> says <0559>, “Ask <07592> the people of other nations <01471> whether <04310> they have heard <08085> of anything like this <0428>. Israel <03478> should have been like a virgin <01330>. But she has done <06213> something <08186> utterly <03966> revolting <08186>!
14Does the snow <07950> ever completely vanish <05800> from the rocky <06697> slopes <07704> of Lebanon <03844>? Do <0518> the cool <07119> waters <04325> from those distant <02114> mountains ever cease <05428> to flow <05140>?
15Yet <03588> my people <05971> have forgotten <07911> me and offered sacrifices <06999> to worthless <07723> idols! This makes <03782> them stumble <03782> along in the way <01870> they live and leave the old <05769> reliable path <07635> of their fathers. They have left them to walk <01980> in bypaths <05410>, in roads <01870> that are not <03808> smooth and level <05549>.
16So their land <0776> will become <07760> an object of horror <08047>. People will forever <05769> hiss out <08292> their scorn over it. All <03605> who pass <05674> that way will be filled with horror <08074> and will shake <05110> their heads <07218> in derision.
17I will scatter <06327> them before <06440> their enemies <0341> like dust blowing <06203> in front <06440> of a burning east <06921> wind <07307>. I will turn my back on them and not <03808> look <07200> favorably on them when <03117> disaster <0343> strikes them.”
18Then some people said <0559>, “Come <01980> on <05921>! Let us consider <02803> how to deal <04284> with Jeremiah <03414>! There will still be priests <03548> to instruct us, wise men <02450> to give us advice <06098>, and prophets <05030> to declare God’s word <01697>. Come on <01980>! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of <05221> him! Then we will not <0408> need to pay attention <07181> to <0413> anything <03605> he says <01697>.”
19Then I said, “Lord <03068>, pay attention <07181> to <0413> me. Listen <08085> to what my enemies <03401> are saying <06963>.
20Should good <02896> be paid back <07999> with <08478> evil <07451>? Yet <03588> they are virtually digging <03738> a pit <07745> to kill me <05315>. Just remember <02142> how I stood <05975> before <06440> you pleading <01696> on <05921> their behalf <02896> to keep you from venting <07725> your anger <02534> on them <01992>.
21So <03651> let their children <01121> die <05414> of starvation <07458>. Let them be cut down <05064> by <03027> the sword <02719>. Let <01961> their wives <0802> lose <0490> <07909> their husbands <0490> and children <07909>. Let <01961> the older men <0376> die <02026> of disease <04194> and the younger men <0970> die <05221> by the sword <02719> in battle <04421>.
22Let cries <02201> of terror be heard <08085> in their houses <01004> when <03588> you send <0935> bands of raiders <01416> unexpectedly <06597> to plunder them. For <03588> they have virtually dug <03738> a pit <07882> to capture <03920> me and have hidden <02934> traps <06341> for me to step <07272> into.
23But you <0859>, Lord <03068>, know <03045> all <03605> their plots <06098> to kill <04194> me. Do not <0408> pardon <03722> their crimes <05771>! Do not <0408> ignore their sins <02403> as though you had erased <04229> them! Let them be <01961> brought down in defeat <03782> before <06440> you! Deal <06213> with them while you are still angry <0639>!