Jeremiah 18:6

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 making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay 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 uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

Jeremiah 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

• Canיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• I not, O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• dealעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• with you as thisזֶהzeh · thisH2088
• potterיָצַרyâtsar · to form: potterH3335
• declaresנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
• handיָדyâd · handH3027
• soכֵּןkên · soH3651

Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:6

• Jeremiah 18:4But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
• Isaiah 64:8But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.
• Daniel 4:23In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,”
• Matthew 20:15Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?’
• Romans 11:34For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became 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

• Clay
• Government
• Nation

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Clay
• Smite
• Wag
• Choose; Chosen
• Potter; Pottery
• Providence
• Handicraft

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