Jeremiah 18
The full text of Jeremiah 18 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words."
3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, working at his wheel.
4 The vessel he was making from clay was ruined in the potter's hand, so he remade it into another vessel, as it seemed right in the potter's eyes.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
6 "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does? declares the LORD. Look, like clay in the potter's hand — so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
7 If at any moment I speak about a nation or a kingdom — to uproot and to tear down and to destroy it —
8 but if that nation about which I have spoken turns from its evil, then I will relent of the evil I planned to do to it.
9 And if at any moment I speak about a nation or a kingdom — to build up and to plant it —
10 but if it does evil in my sight, not obeying my voice, then I will relent of the good I said I would do for it.
11 "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem: This is what the LORD says — Look, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, each of you, from your evil way, and reform your ways and your actions."
12 But they say, "It is hopeless! We will follow our own plans and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil heart."
13 Therefore this is what the LORD says:
"Ask among the nations — who has heard such things?
The virgin Israel has committed a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave its rocky summits?
Do the cold flowing waters from distant springs ever fail?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me;
they burn incense to false gods.
They have stumbled in their ways — the ancient roads —
and walked in off-road paths,
not on the highway,
16 making their land a horror to be hissed at forever;
all who pass by it will be appalled
and shake their heads.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their disaster.
18 Then they said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah — for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue and pay no heed to any of his words."
19 Do listen to me, O LORD;
hear what my accusers are saying.
20 Should evil be repaid for good?
For they have dug a pit for my life.
Remember how I stood before you
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword.
Let their wives become childless and widowed;
let their men be struck down by death,
their young men slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring raiders against them;
for they have dug a pit to catch me
and have laid snares for my feet.
23 But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me.
Do not forgive their iniquity
or blot out their sin from your sight;
let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.
Translation notes (13)
- Jeremiah 18:3a The Hebrew phrase ʿal-hāʾobnayim means 'on the two stones or wheels'; its dual form suggests the two-stone kick-wheel used by potters.
- Jeremiah 18:4a The Hebrew phrase wenišhat hakkᵉlî 'ašer hûʾ ʿōśeh means 'the vessel was ruined'; the word nišhat comes from the Hebrew root šḥt, meaning 'to ruin or destroy'. The potter then decides whether to rework the vessel or abandon it.
- Jeremiah 18:6a The Hebrew phrase hᵃkᵉyôṣēr hazzeh lōʾ-'ûkal laʿăśôt lākem applies the potter metaphor to God's divine sovereignty; however, its use in verses 7-10 emphasizes that outcomes depend on human actions, rather than being predetermined.
- Jeremiah 18:8a The Hebrew word wᵉniḥamtî means 'I will relent or repent'; the word nāḥam, when used in the niphal grammatical form, describes a divine change of course in response to human actions. This shows God's relational responsiveness, not inconsistency.
- Jeremiah 18:11a The Hebrew phrase hinnᵉnî yôṣēr means 'I am fashioning or shaping'; this verb (yṣr), which is the same root used in the potter scene, is applied here to God shaping disaster. This is a theological wordplay.
- Jeremiah 18:12a The Hebrew word nôʾaš means 'it is hopeless or despairing'; this describes the people's fatal response, as they reject the offer of repentance as pointless. This rejection seals their judgment.
- Jeremiah 18:13a The Hebrew word šaʿarûrît means 'a horrible or hair-raising thing'; it is an intensified form of šaʿar, meaning 'horror', and is a unique grammatical construction. This emphasizes that Israel's apostasy is without parallel, even among other nations.
- Jeremiah 18:14a The Hebrew text here is difficult, and the standard Hebrew text is uncertain. The phrases 'Snow of Lebanon' and 'foreign or distant mountain waters' are used as images of natural constancy, suggesting that nature is more reliable than Israel.
- Jeremiah 18:15a The Hebrew phrase nᵉtîbôt lōʾ-sᵉlûlāh means 'paths not leveled or prepared', which contrasts with the 'ancient highway' (derek ʿôlām). The metaphor of wandering from the path represents apostasy, or turning away from God.
- Jeremiah 18:16a The Hebrew word šᵉrēqāh means 'a hissing'; this refers to the hiss of shock and contempt at a desolated land (compare Jeremiah 19:8; 49:17). The desolation becomes a spectacle.
- Jeremiah 18:17a Heb. 'et-'ōrep wᵉlōʾ-pānîm — 'back and not face'; the divine face (pānîm) = presence/favor; turning the back = withdrawal of presence. The antithesis of priestly blessing (Num 6:25-26).
- Jeremiah 18:18a The Hebrew phrase wᵉhakkēhû bᵉlāšôn means 'let us smite or strike with the tongue', referring to slander and discrediting rather than a physical attack (compare verse 23, which requests physical harm). This describes a campaign against the prophet.
- Jeremiah 18:23a The Hebrew phrase 'al-tᵉkappēr ʿal-ʿăwōnām means 'do not atone or cover their iniquity'; the prophet explicitly requests that no atonement be made for his enemies. This is a starkly anti-intercessory prayer, meaning it is the opposite of praying for others.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Jeremiah, is free to read here on the web.
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