New Living Translation
Jeremiah 18:6
6“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my 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
4But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. 5Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned.
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 18:4But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
- Isaiah 64:8And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.
- Daniel 4:23“‘Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.”
- Matthew 20:15Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?’
- Romans 11:34For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries