Jeremiah 18:5-15

5Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, 6“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the 1clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to 2uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 83if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will 45relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to 6build up or to plant it; 10if it does 7evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will 89think better of the good with which I had promised to 10bless it. 11So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am 11fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh 12turn back, each of you from his evil way, and 13reform your ways and your deeds.”’ 12But 14they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the 15stubbornness of his evil heart.’

13“Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘16Ask now among the nations, Who ever heard the like of 17this? The 18virgin of Israel Has done a most 19appalling thing.14Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country? Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?15For 20My people have forgotten Me, 21They burn incense 22to worthless gods And they 23have stumbled 24from their ways, 25From the 26ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a 27highway,