Jeremiah — Chapter 18

📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 18 (KJV)

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Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.

Jeremiah 18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 18:2 Arise, ^Rand go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Jeremiah 18:3 Then ^RI went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the ^Twheels.

Jeremiah 18:4 And the vessel that he made ^Tof clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he ^Tmade it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Jeremiah 18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Jeremiah 18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Jeremiah 18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, ^Rto pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

Jeremiah 18:8 If ^Rthat nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

Jeremiah 18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, ^Rto build and to plant it;

Jeremiah 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, ^Rthen I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Jeremiah 18:11 Now therefore ^Rgo to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, ^RThere is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

Jeremiah 18:13 Therefore thus saith the LORD; ^RAsk ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.

Jeremiah 18:14 ^RWill a man leave ^Tthe snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

Jeremiah 18:15 Because ^Rmy people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;

Jeremiah 18:16 To ^Rmake their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

Jeremiah 18:17 I will ^Rscatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

Jeremiah 18:18 Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; ^Rfor the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him ^Twith the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

Jeremiah 18:19 ^RGive heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

Jeremiah 18:20 Shall ^Revil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore ^Rdeliver up their children to the famine, and ^Tpour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:22 Let ^Ra cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

Jeremiah 18:23 Yet, LORD, ^Rthou knowest all their counsel against me ^Tto slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

📚 Study This Chapter

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 18:1–8 — The Potter reshapes a marred vessel

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

At the potter’s house Jeremiah watches a spoiled vessel remade. God applies the image to nations and explains that turning from evil can change an announced outcome of judgment.

Key Truth: Respond to warning with a change of direction.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 18:9–16 — An invitation to amend ways is refused

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

Promised building can likewise be forfeited through disobedience. Judah rejects the call to change, pursuing its own devices and abandoning ancient paths for ways that lead to desolation.

Key Truth: Do not treat stubbornness as an unavoidable fate.

Check What You Remember

📖 What We’re Reading

Jeremiah 18:17–23 — Good is repaid with a plot

🌱 What These Verses Teach Us

Opponents plan to silence Jeremiah despite his earlier intercession for them. He recalls the good he sought and brings their murderous counsel before the Lord in an anguished plea for judgment.

Key Truth: Entrust betrayal to God rather than denying its pain.

Check What You Remember

Related Scripture (KJV)

Isaiah 64:8 — The earlier prayer calls God the Potter and the people clay.

Isaiah 64:8 (KJV) But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.

Reflect and Apply

Where could a willing response to correction reshape your path?

Chapter Navigation

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