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Jeremiah 18:6

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4 But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do.

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

“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

7 At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.

8 But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring.

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Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
KJV
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.
WEB
“House of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
ASV
O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter`s hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.
DARBY
House of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, house of Israel.
BLB
O house of Israel, “Can I not do to you⁺ as this potter?, A declaration of YHWH. Behold, like clay in the potter’s hand, so [are] you⁺ in My hand, O house of Israel.
ÅB
Skulle jeg ikke kunne gjøre med dere, Israels hus, som denne pottemaker? sier Herren; se, som leiren er i pottemakerens hånd, slik er dere i min hånd, Israels hus!
OTB
"Kan jeg ikke gjøre med dere, Israels hus, som denne pottemakeren gjør?" erklærer Herren. "Se, som leiren er i pottemakerens hånd, slik er dere i Min hånd, Israels hus.
B1930
Skulde jeg ikke kunne gjøre med eder, Israels hus, som denne pottemaker? sier Herren; se, som leret er i pottemakerens hånd, således er I i min hånd, Israels hus!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Isaiah 64:8

    But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.

    Read in context

  • Romans 9:20–21

    But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 18:4

    But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 45:9

    Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker— one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?

    Read in context

  • Matthew 20:15

    Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

    Read in context

  • Daniel 4:23

    And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying: ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, and a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass him by.’

    Read in context

  • Romans 11:34

    “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?”

    Read in context