And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

«O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?» says the LORD. «Look, as the clay is in the potteŕs hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it,

if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.

And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it,

if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.

«Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, «Thus says the LORD: «Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.»»́

And they said, «That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.»

Therefore thus says the LORD: «Ask now among the Gentiles, Who has heard such things? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing.

Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, Which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?

«Because My people have forgotten Me, They have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in pathways and not on a highway,

To make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; Everyone who passes by it will be astonished And shake his head.

I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face In the day of their calamity.»

Then they said, «Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.»

Give heed to me, O LORD, And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!

Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my life. Remember that I stood before You To speak good for them, To turn away Your wrath from them.

Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, And pour out their blood By the force of the sword; Let their wives become widows And bereaved of their children. Let their men be put to death, Their young men be slain By the sword in battle.

Let a cry be heard from their houses, When You bring a troop suddenly upon them; For they have dug a pit to take me, And hidden snares for my feet.

Yet, LORD, You know all their counsel Which is against me, to slay me. Provide no atonement for their iniquity, Nor blot out their sin from Your sight; But let them be overthrown before You. Deal thus with them In the time of Your anger.

The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations.

Against Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, which was by the River Euphrates in Carchemish, and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

«Order the buckler and shield, And draw near to battle!

Harness the horses, And mount up, you horsemen! Stand forth with your helmets, Polish the spears, Put on the armor!

Why have I seen them dismayed and turned back? Their mighty ones are beaten down; They have speedily fled, And did not look back, For fear was all around,» says the LORD.

«Do not let the swift flee away, Nor the mighty man escape; They will stumble and fall Toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

«Who is this coming up like a flood, Whose waters move like the rivers?

Egypt rises up like a flood, And its waters move like the rivers; And he says, «I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.́

Come up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men come forth: The Ethiopians and the Libyans who handle the shield, And the Lydians who handle and bend the bow.

For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, A day of vengeance, That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; For the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice In the north country by the River Euphrates.

«Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt; In vain you will use many medicines; You shall not be cured.

The nations have heard of your shame, And your cry has filled the land; For the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty; They both have fallen together.»

The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and strike the land of Egypt.

«Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; Proclaim in Noph and in Tahpanhes; Say, «Stand fast and prepare yourselves, For the sword devours all around you.́

Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand Because the LORD drove them away.

He made many fall; Yes, one fell upon another. And they said, «Arise! Let us go back to our own people And to the land of our nativity From the oppressing sword.́

They cried there, «Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!́

«As I live,» says the King, Whose name is the LORD of hosts, «Surely as Tabor is among the mountains And as Carmel by the sea, so he shall come.

O you daughter dwelling in Egypt, Prepare yourself to go into captivity! For Noph shall be waste and desolate, without inhabitant.

«Egypt is a very pretty heifer, But destruction comes, it comes from the north.

Also her mercenaries are in her midst like fat bulls, For they also are turned back, They have fled away together. They did not stand, For the day of their calamity had come upon them, The time of their punishment.

Her noise shall go like a serpent, For they shall march with an army And come against her with axes, Like those who chop wood.

«They shall cut down her forest,» says the LORD, «Though it cannot be searched, Because they are innumerable, And more numerous than grasshoppers.

The daughter of Egypt shall be ashamed; She shall be delivered into the hand Of the people of the north.»

The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says: «Behold, I will bring punishment on Amon of No, and Pharaoh and Egypt, with their gods and their kings--Pharaoh and those who trust in him.

And I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of his servants. Afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,» says the LORD.

«But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, And your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; No one shall make him afraid.

Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,» says the LORD, «For I am with you; For I will make a complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you, But I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, For I will not leave you wholly unpunished.»