18 The Davar which came to Yirmeyah from Hashem, saying,

² Arise, and go down to the bais hayotzer (the house of the potter, Creator), and there I will cause thee to hear My Devar.

³ Then I went down to the bais hayotzer, and, behold, he wrought a work on the [potter’s] wheel.

⁴ And the keli (vessel) that he was making of khomer (clay) was marred in the yad of the yotzer; so he made it again keli acher (another vessel, a different vessel), as seemed good to the eyes of the yotzer to make it.

⁵ Then the Devar Hashem came to me, saying,

⁶ O Bais Yisroel, cannot I do with you as this yotzer? saith Hashem. Hinei, as the khomer (clay) is in the yotzer’s yad, so are ye in Mine yad, O Bais Yisroel.

⁷ At what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy (nation), and concerning a mamlachah (kingdom), to uproot, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

⁸ If that Goy, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their ra’ah, I will relent of the ra’ah that I planned to do unto them.

⁹ And at what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy, and concerning a mamlachah, to build and to plant it;

¹⁰ If it do ra’ah in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will relent of the tov, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

¹¹ Now therefore go to, speak to the Ish Yehudah, and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, saying, Thus saith Hashem; Hinei, I yotzer (mold as a potter) ra’ah against you, and devise a plan against you; return ye now every ish from his derech ra’ah, and make your ways and your doings good.

¹² And they said, It is useless; but we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every ish do the sherirut (stubbornness) of his lev ra’ah.

¹³ Therefore thus saith Hashem, Ask ye now among the Goyim, Who hath heard such things? The Betulat Yisroel hath done a most horrible thing.

¹⁴ Does the sheleg (snow) of Levanon vanish from the tzur of the slope? Or shall the cold flowing mayim that come from distant sources cease?

¹⁵ Because My people hath forgotten Me, they have burned ketoret to worthless idols, and they have caused them to stumble in their drakhim from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, and not on the derech built up;

¹⁶ To make their eretz desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shall shake his rosh.

¹⁷ I will scatter them as with an east ruach (wind) before the oyev; I will show them My oref (back), and not My panim (face), in the day of their calamity.

¹⁸ Then said they, Come and let us devise plans against Yirmeyah; for the torah shall not perish from the kohen, nor etzah from the chacham, nor the davar from the navi. Come, and let us attack him with the lashon, and let us not give heed to any of his devarim.

¹⁹ Give heed to me, Hashem, and take notice of the voice of them that contend with me.

²⁰ Shall ra’ah be repaid for tovah? For they have dug a pit for my nefesh. Remember that I stood before Thee to speak tovah concerning them, and to turn away Thy wrath from them.

²¹ Therefore deliver up their banim to the ra’av (famine), and pour out their dahm by the force of the cherev; and let their nashim be bereaved as childless, and be almanot (widows); and let their anashim be put to death; let their bochurim be slain by the cherev in milchamah.

²² Let a cry be heard from their batim (houses), when Thou shalt bring a gedud (troop) suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid pachim (snares) for my raglayim.

²³ Yet, Hashem, Thou knowest all their etzah against me to slay me; do not make kapporah for their avon, neither blot out their chattat from Thy sight, but let them be overthrown before Thee; deal thus with them in the time of Thine anger.