New English Translation
Jeremiah 18:6
6“I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’
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
4Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit. 5Then the Lord said to me, “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 7There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. 8But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it.
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
Words taken from the KJV.
- O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- cannotיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
- I doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- with you as this potterיָצַרyâtsar · to form: potterH3335
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- Behold, as the clayחֹ֫מֶרchômer · clayH2563
- handיָדyâd · handH3027
Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:6
- Jeremiah 18:4Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.
- Isaiah 64:8Yet, Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the product of your labor.
- Daniel 4:23As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’ –
- Matthew 20:15Am I not permitted to do what I want with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’
- Romans 11:34For 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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