Jeremiah 18:8

Jeremiah 18:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
• New International Version (NIV)and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Jeremiah 18:8

6He said, ‘I tell you this: I can do to you, nation of Israel, the same thing that this potter does with his clay. I hold you in my hands, as the potter holds the clay in his hands. 7Sometimes I may warn a nation or a kingdom that I will knock it down and destroy it. But when I warn them, those people might stop doing wicked things. Then I would not punish them as I had promised to do. 9Sometimes I may promise to build up a nation or a kingdom and make it strong. 10But those people might start to do evil things. They might stop obeying me. Then I would not help them as I had promised to do.

Jeremiah 18:8 word by word

וְשָׁב֙ הַגּ֣וֹי הַה֔וּא מֵרָ֣עָת֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי עָלָ֑יו וְנִֽחַמְתִּי֙ עַל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָשַׁ֖בְתִּי לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לֽוֹ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If that nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• against whom I have pronouncedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: turn backH7725
• from their evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
• I will repentנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: relentH5162
• of the evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• that I thoughtחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: deviseH2803
• to doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:8

• Jeremiah 7:3This is what the Lord Almighty, Israel's God, says: Change the way that you live. Do things that are right. If you change, I will let you continue to live here.
• Jeremiah 36:3That will warn the people of Judah about the very bad things that I have decided to do to them. When they hear about it, perhaps they will stop doing the evil things that they have been doing. Then I will forgive their sins and everything wrong that they have done.’
• Judges 10:15But the Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We are guilty. Punish us in whatever way you think is right, but please rescue us now.’
• 1 Kings 8:33Perhaps an enemy will win against your people, the Israelites, because we have not obeyed you. But then your people may turn back to you and worship you. They may come into this temple and pray that you will help them.
• 2 Chronicles 12:6The leaders of Israel and the king made themselves humble. They said, ‘The Lord is right to do that.’
• Isaiah 1:16Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean! Remove your sins, so that I no longer see them. Stop doing evil things!
• Ezekiel 18:21But a wicked person might turn away from the sins that he has been doing. He might decide to obey my laws and do things that are right and good. If he does that, he will certainly continue to live. He will not die as his punishment.
• Ezekiel 33:11Tell them, “It does not make me happy to punish wicked people with death. I, the Almighty Lord, promise you this, as surely as I live. I want wicked people to stop doing wrong things so that they may continue to live. So stop doing evil things! Israel's people, you do not have to die. Turn back to me!”
• Jonah 2:5The deep water of the sea covered me, so that my life was in danger. The plants in the sea were all around my head.
• Luke 13:3No! But I tell you this. All of you have done many bad things. So you must change how you live and you must turn to God. If you do not, you will also die as they did.
• Jeremiah 15:6I tell you this: You have turned away from me. You continue to go further away from me. So I will prepare to use my power to destroy you. I can no longer be kind to you.
• Jeremiah 26:3Perhaps they will listen to what you say. Then they may stop living in the evil way that they do now. If they change how they live, I will not punish them for their sins, as I had promised to do.
• Jeremiah 42:10“You should stay here in the land of Judah. If you do that, I will build you up and make you strong again. I will not knock you down. I will help you to grow in the land, like plants with good roots. I will not pull you up. I have punished you with terrible trouble, and that makes me very sad. So now I will help you.
• Exodus 32:12If you destroy them, the Egyptians will say, “God led the Israelites out of our land so that he could completely destroy them. He wanted to kill them in the mountains.” So please stop being angry. Change your mind. Please do not bring this great trouble on your own people.
• Deuteronomy 32:36At that time, the Lord will bring justice for his people. He will forgive his servants. He will rescue them when he sees that they are weak, and very few of them remain, as slaves or free people.
• Judges 2:18Every time that the Lord chose a judge to lead them, the Lord helped the leader to rescue them from their enemies. While the leader was still alive, the Lord was kind to them. When the Israelites called out to the Lord for help, he was sorry for them. He saw the cruel things that their enemies were doing to give them pain.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 18:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8I will repent of the evil … I will repent of the good - All God‘s dealings with mankind are here declared to be conditional. God changeth not, all depends upon man‘s conduct.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-10If a nation or kingdom rejected the one true God, God could decide to uproot, tear down, and destroy it (see Jeremiah 1:10). If the nation changed its evil ways, the Lord's anger would ease, and he would not destroy it.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. their evil--in antithesis to, "the evil that I thought to do." repent--God herein adapts Himself to human conceptions. The change is not in God, but in the circumstances which regulate God's dealings: just as we say the land recedes from us when we sail forth, whereas it is we who recede from the land (Eze 18:21; 33:11). God's unchangeable principle is to do the best that can be done under all circumstances; if then He did not take into account the…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 18:8

• Contingencies
• Government
• Nation
• Repentance

In the dictionaries

• Smite
• Wag
• Providence

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