Loading…
The Lord Sends Jeremiah to the Potter’s House
18 A message came to me from the Lord. He said, 2“Go down to the potter’s house. I will give you my message there.”
3So I went down to the potter’s house. I saw him working at his wheel. 4His hands were shaping a pot out of clay. But he saw that something was wrong with it. So he formed it into another pot. He shaped it in the way that seemed best to him.
5Then the Lord’s message came to me. He said, 6“People of Israel, I can do with you just as this potter does,” announces the Lord. “The clay is in the potter’s hand. And you are in my hand, people of Israel.
7“Suppose at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is going to be pulled up by the roots. And I tell it that it will be torn down and destroyed. 8But suppose the nation I warned turns away from its sins. Then I will not do what I said I would. I will not bring trouble on it as I had planned.
9“Suppose at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is going to be built up and planted. 10But it does what is evil in my sight. It does not obey me. Then I will think again about the good things I had wanted to do for it.
11“So speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘The Lord says, “Look! I am making plans against you. I am going to bring trouble on you. So each one of you must turn from your evil ways. Change the way you live and act.” ’
12“But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue to do what we’ve already planned. All of us will do what our stubborn and evil hearts want us to do.’ ”
“Ask the nations a question. Say to them,
‘Who has ever heard anything like this?
The people of Israel have done
a very horrible thing.
14 Does the snow ever disappear
from Lebanon’s rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters ever stop
flowing from places far away?
15 But my people have forgotten me.
They burn incense to worthless gods.
Their gods made them trip and fall
as they walked on the old paths.
They made them use side roads
instead of roads that were built up.
16 So their land will be completely destroyed.
People will make fun of it again and again.
All those who pass by it will be shocked.
They will shake their heads.
17 I will sweep over my people like a wind from the east.
I will use the Babylonians to scatter them.
I will show them my back and not my face.
I will desert them when their day of trouble comes.’ ”
18They said, “Come on. Let’s make plans against Jeremiah. We’ll still have priests to teach us the law. We’ll always have wise people to give us advice. We’ll have prophets to bring us messages from the Lord. So come on. Let’s speak out against Jeremiah. We shouldn’t pay any attention to what he says.”
Hear what my enemies are saying about me!
20 Should the good things I’ve done be paid back with evil?
But my enemies have dug a pit for me.
Remember that I stood in front of you
and spoke up for them.
I tried to turn your anger away from them.
21 So let their children die of hunger.
Let my enemies be killed in war.
Let their wives lose their children and husbands.
Let their men be put to death.
Let their young men be killed in battle.
22 Bring their enemies against them without warning.
Let cries be heard from their houses.
They have dug a pit to capture me.
They have hidden traps for my feet.
all about their plans to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t erase their sins from your sight.
Destroy my enemies.
Punish them when the time to show your anger comes.
|
About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
| Support Info | nirv |