181 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 Up! go down to the potter's house, and there I will let my words come to your ears. 3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and he was doing his work on the stones. 4 And when the vessel, which he was forming out of earth, got damaged in the hand of the potter, he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 O Israel, am I not able to do with you as this potter does? says the Lord. See, like earth in the potter's hand are you in my hands, O Israel. 7 Whenever I say anything about uprooting a nation or a kingdom, and smashing it and sending destruction on it; 8 If, in that very minute, that nation of which I was talking is turned away from its evil, my purpose of doing evil to them will be changed. 9 And whenever I say anything about building up a nation or a kingdom, and planting it; 10 If, in that very minute, it does evil in my eyes, going against my orders, then my good purpose, which I said I would do for them, will be changed.
11 Now, then, say to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am forming an evil thing against you, and designing a design against you: let every man come back now from his evil way, and let your ways and your doings be changed for the better. 12 But they will say, There is no hope: we will go on in our designs, and every one of us will do what he is moved by the pride of his evil heart to do. 13 So this is what the Lord has said: Make search among the nations and see who has had word of such things; the virgin of Israel has done a very shocking thing. 14 Will the white snow go away from the top of Sirion? will the cold waters flowing from the mountains become dry? 15 For my people have put me out of their memory, burning perfumes to that which is nothing; and because of this, I will put a cause of falling in their ways, even in the old roads, and will make them go on side-roads, in a way not lifted up; 16 Making their land a thing of wonder, causing sounds of surprise for ever; everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder, shaking his head. 17 I will send them in flight, as from an east wind, before the attacker; I will let them see my back and not my face on the day of their downfall.
18 Then they said, Come, let us make a design against Jeremiah; for teaching will never be cut off from the priest, or wisdom from the wise, or the word from the prophet. Come, let us make use of his words for an attack on him, and let us give attention with care to what he says. 19 Give thought to me, O Lord, and give ear to the voice of those who put forward a cause against me. 20 Is evil to be the reward of good? for they have made a deep hole for my soul. Keep in mind how I took my place before you, to say a good word for them so that your wrath might be turned away from them. 21 For this cause, let their children be without food, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives be without children and become widows; let their men be overtaken by death, and their young men be put to the sword in the fight. 22 Let a cry for help go up from their houses, when you send an armed band on them suddenly: for they have made a hole in which to take me, and have put nets for my feet secretly. 23 But you, Lord, have knowledge of all the designs which they have made against my life; let not their evil-doing be covered or their sin be washed away from before your eyes: but let it be a cause of falling before you: so do to them in the time of your wrath.
191 This is what the Lord has said: Go and get for money a potter's bottle made of earth, and take with you some of the responsible men of the people and of the priests; 2 And go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, by the way into the door of broken pots, and there say in a loud voice the words which I will give you; 3 Say, Give ear to the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem; the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, I will send evil on this place which will be bitter to the ears of anyone hearing of it. 4 Because they have given me up, and made this place a strange place, burning perfumes in it to other gods, of whom they and their fathers and the kings of Judah had no knowledge; and they have made this place full of the blood of those who have done no wrong; 5 And they have put up the high places of the Baal, burning their sons in the fire; a thing which was not ordered by me, and it was never in my mind: 6 For this cause, see, a time is coming, says the Lord, when this place will no longer be named Topheth, or, The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of Death. 7 I will make the purpose of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place; I will have them put to the sword by their haters, and by the hands of those who have designs on their life; and their dead bodies I will give to be food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this town a thing of wonder and a cause of surprise; everyone who goes by will be overcome with wonder and make sounds of surprise, because of all its troubles. 9 I will make them take the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters for food, they will be making a meal of one another, because of their bitter need and the cruel grip of their haters and those who have made designs against their life.
10 Then let the potter's bottle be broken before the eyes of the men who have gone with you, 11 And say to them, This is what the Lord of armies has said: Even so will this people and this town be broken by me, as a potter's bottle is broken and may not be put together again: and the bodies of the dead will be put in the earth in Topheth, till there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place, says the Lord, and to its people, making this town like Topheth: 13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which they have made unclean, will be like the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs perfumes have been burned to all the army of heaven, and drink offerings drained out to other gods. 14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to give the prophet's word; and he took his place in the open square of the Lord's house, and said to all the people, 15 The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: See, I will send on this town and on all her towns all the evil which I have said; because they made their necks stiff, so that they might not give ear to my words.
31 But be certain of this, that in the last days times of trouble will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, uplifted in pride, given to bitter words, going against the authority of their fathers, never giving praise, having no religion, 3 Without natural love, bitter haters, saying evil of others, violent and uncontrolled, hating all good, 4 False to their friends, acting without thought, lifted up in mind, loving pleasure more than God; 5 Having a form of religion, but turning their backs on the power of it: go not with these. 6 For these are they who go secretly into houses, making prisoners of foolish women, weighted down with sin, turned from the way by their evil desires, 7 Ever learning, and never coming to the knowledge of what is true. 8 And as James and Jambres went against Moses, so do these go against what is true: men of evil minds, who, tested by faith, are seen to be false. 9 But they will go no farther: for their foolish behaviour will be clear to all men, as theirs was in the end.
10 But you took as your example my teaching, behaviour, purpose, and faith; my long waiting, my love, my quiet undergoing of trouble; 11 My punishments and pain; the things which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; the cruel attacks made on me: and the Lord made me free from them all. 12 Yes, and all whose purpose is to be living in the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus, will be cruelly attacked. 13 Evil and false men will become worse and worse, using deceit and themselves overcome by deceit. 14 But see that you keep to the teaching you have been given and the things of which you are certain, conscious of who has been your teacher; 15 And that from the time when you were a child, you have had knowledge of the holy Writings, which are able to make you wise to salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness: 17 So that the man of God may be complete, trained and made ready for every good work.
