Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Read it in contextThe Potter and the Clay
Start reading at Jeremiah 18:1 (Jeremiah 18:1 to Jeremiah 18:17).
An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
This opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
18:1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
18:2Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
18:3Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
18:4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
18:5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18:6O 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.
18:7At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
18:8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
18:9And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
18:10If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
18:11Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
18:12And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
18:13Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
18:14Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
18:15Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
18:16To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
18:17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
Study content, not yet reviewed.
Who
Who wrote the book? Jeremiah son of Hilkiah is the prophet behind the book, with Baruch serving as his scribe. The complete collection includes narrative and a historical appendix as well as Jeremiah's dictated words. Biblical references: Jeremiah 1:1; Jeremiah 36:4; Jeremiah 36:32. stated in the text
Who was present or being addressed in this passage? In the surrounding chapter context (Jeremiah 18:1–20:18): Jeremiah receives and delivers the potter and broken-vessel messages to Judah's leaders and people; Pashur confronts and punishes him. stated in the text
Who was the book written to? Judah and Jerusalem before and during the Babylonian crisis, exiles in Babylon, and later readers of the preserved prophetic collection. Individual oracles name additional recipients. Biblical references: Jeremiah 2:2; Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 46:1. stated in the text
What
What is the topic of this reading unit? The Potter and the Clay. Read Jeremiah 18:1 through Jeremiah 18:17 as a connected unit. interpretation
How does it contribute to the book? This opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon. interpretation
When
When are the events or message set? The opening dates Jeremiah's ministry from Josiah's reign toward the captivity of Jerusalem. Individual messages also name particular reigns and events, and the book is not arranged as a simple diary. book background
Where
What is the book’s geographic setting? Judah and Jerusalem dominate, with messages to exiles in Babylon, accounts involving Egypt, and oracles concerning other nations. book background
Where does the context start?
This passage sits in The Potter and the Clay (Jeremiah 18:1 to Jeremiah 18:17).
Start reading at Jeremiah 18:1. An editorial reading unit, not a claim that the surrounding context stops here. Book background below applies to the shared passage; individual verses may need more specific explanation.
How
How does this book connect with Jesus Christ? Hebrews explicitly quotes Jeremiah's new-covenant promise in its explanation of Christ's priestly work. The quotation retains the named houses of Israel and Judah; later application should account for that wording. See Jeremiah 31:31, Hebrews 8:8, Hebrews 8:10. interpretation
How should this book guide our response? Listen to unwelcome truth and distinguish it from reassuring claims unsupported by God's word. Do not detach promises of restoration from the judgment, exile, and response described around them. interpretation
Cross references from CrossReferences-org (CC BY 4.0).
Macro-Structure
See how this passage fits the chapter and the book.
Macro-Structure of Jeremiah 18
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Jeremiah records words associated with his prophetic ministry and accounts surrounding Judah's fall. The book is not arranged as one continuous dated diary. Read each oracle's audience, occasion, and conditions rather than assigning every promise to every reader. Local headings and stanza divisions are editorial reading aids adapted from public-domain BSB headings; verse boundaries and Scripture links use the KJV. Connections describe the surrounding book movement.
Connection to the wholeThis opening unit introduces the chapter’s movement. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
Connection to the wholeThis unit closes the chapter’s selected reading divisions. Oracles and enacted signs expose covenant unfaithfulness and the coming judgment, including the warning about Babylon.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.
Macro-Structure of Jeremiah
Prefilled outline, not yet reviewed.
Jeremiah records words associated with his prophetic ministry and accounts surrounding Judah's fall. The book is not arranged as one continuous dated diary. Read each oracle's audience, occasion, and conditions rather than assigning every promise to every reader.
Connection to the wholeNarratives and letters contrast competing claims about the LORD's word and address life under Babylonian power, including the exiles' situation.
Connection to the wholeWords of restoration appear amid announced judgment, including the new covenant promise; their wording and named audience must remain visible.
Connection to the wholeThe accounts follow conflicts around the prophetic word, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the choices of survivors, with a word to Baruch.
Connection to the wholeThe historical appendix recounts the disaster and closes with Jehoiachin's release, placing the preceding messages beside their historical aftermath.
interpretation
Suggested literary divisions. Headings summarize the passage; they are not part of the biblical text.