1. The Lord said to Jeremiah:
2. “Go down at once to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.”
3. So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working at his wheel.
4. Now 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.
5. Then the Lord said to me,
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.’
7. There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom.
8. But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it.
9. And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom.