Berean Standard Bible
Jeremiah 18:6
6“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.
Jeremiah 18:6 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
Context of Jeremiah 18:6
4But 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. 5Then 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. 7At any time I might announce that a nation or kingdom will be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed. 8But if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I will relent of the disaster I had planned to bring.
Read all of Jeremiah 18Jeremiah 18:6 word by word
הֲכַיּוֹצֵ֨ר הַזֶּ֜ה לֹא־אוּכַ֨ל לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לָכֶ֛ם בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה הִנֵּ֤ה כַחֹ֙מֶר֙ בְּיַ֣ד הַיּוֹצֵ֔ר כֵּן־אַתֶּ֥ם בְּיָדִ֖י בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
- O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- declaresנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- canיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- I notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
- treatעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- as thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
- potterיָצַרyâtsar · to form: potterH3335
- Justהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
- like clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- handיָדyâd · handH3027
- soכֵּןkên · soH3651
- are youאַתֶּם'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(m.p.)H859
Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:6
- Jeremiah 18:4But 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.
- Isaiah 64:8But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Daniel 4:23And 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, with 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.’
- Matthew 20:15Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
- Romans 11:34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?”
Commentaries on Jeremiah 18:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Cannot I do with you as this potter? - Have I not a right to do with a people whom I have created as reason and justice may require? If they do not answer my intentions, may I not reject and destroy them; and act as this potter, make a new vessel out of that which at first did not succeed in his hands? It is generally supposed that St. Paul has made a very different use of this similitude from that mentioned above. See Romans 9:20, etc. His words are…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6So are ye in mine hand - When a vessel was ruined, the potter did not throw it away, but crushed it together, dashed it back upon the wheel, and began his work afresh, until the clay had taken the predetermined shape. It was God‘s purpose that Judaea should become the proper scene for the manifestation of the Messiah, and her sons be fit to receive the Saviour‘s teaching and carry the good tidings to all lands. If therefore at any stage of the preparation…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The Lord compared himself to this potter. He could set high standards and decide to destroy or reshape his creations.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Refuting the Jews' reliance on their external privileges as God's elect people, as if God could never cast them off. But if the potter, a mere creature, has power to throw away a marred vessel and raise up other clay from the ground, a fortiori God, the Creator, can cast away the people who prove unfaithful to His election and can raise others in their stead (compare Is 45:9; 64:8; Ro 9:20, 21). It is curious that the potter's field should have been…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 18:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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