Jeremiah 18:18-23

18 And they said, Come ye, and think we thoughts against Jeremy; for why the law shall not perish from a priest, neither counsel shall perish from a wise man, neither word shall perish from a prophet (for the Law shall never perish from, or be lost to, a priest, nor good advice from a wise man, nor God's word from a prophet); come ye, and smite we him with (the) tongue, and take we none heed to all the words of him.

19 Lord, give thou attention to me, and hear thou the voice of mine adversaries.

20 Whether evil is yielded for good, for they have digged a pit to my soul; have thou mind, that I stood in thy sight, to speak good for them, and to turn away thine indignation from them. (Shall evil be yielded for good, for they have dug a pit for me; remember, O Lord, that I stood in thy sight, to speak good of them, and to turn away thy indignation from them.)

21 Therefore give thou the sons of them into hunger, and lead forth them into the hands of [the] sword; the wives of them be made without children, and be made widows, and the husbands of them be slain by death; the young men of them be pierced together by sword in battle. (And so give thou their sons into hunger, and lead them forth into the hands of the sword; let their wives be made without children, and be made widows, and let their husbands be killed; and let their young men be altogether pierced by the sword in battle.)

22 Cry be heard of the houses of them, for thou shalt bring suddenly a thief on them; for they digged a pit to take me, and hid snares to my feet. (Let a cry be heard from their houses, for thou shalt suddenly bring a thief upon them; for they dug a pit to catch me, and hid snares for my feet.)

23 But thou, Lord, knowest all the counsel of them against me into death; do thou not mercy to the wickedness of them, and the sin of them be not done away from thy face; be they made falling down in thy sight, in the time of thy strong vengeance; use thou them to other thing than they were ordained (use thou them for something other than what they were ordained for).

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Jeremiah 18:18-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 18

This chapter expresses the sovereign power of God ever his creatures, and his usual methods of dealing with them; it threatens destruction to the Jews for their idolatry; and is closed with the prophet's complaint of his persecutors, and with imprecations upon them. The sovereign power of God is expressed under the simile of a potter working in his shop, and making and marring vessels at pleasure, Jer 18:1-4; the application of which to God, and the house of Israel, is in Jer 18:5,6; and is illustrated by his usual dealings with kingdoms and nations; for though he is a sovereign Being, yet he acts both in a kind and equitable way; and as the potter changes his work, so he changes the dispensations of his providence, of which two instances are given; the one is, that having threatened ruin to a nation, upon their repentance and good behaviour he revokes the threatening, Jer 18:7,8; and the other is, that having made a declaration of good to a people, upon their sin and disobedience he recalls it, and punishes them for their wickedness, Jer 18:9,10; then follows a prophecy of the destruction of the Jews in particular, in which they are exhorted to repentance to prevent it; their obstinacy is observed; their folly in departing from God, and worshipping idols, is exposed; and they are threatened with utter ruin, Jer 18:11-17; the conspiracy and evil designs of the Jews against the prophet, their malice and ingratitude, are complained of by him, Jer 18:18-20; his imprecations upon them, and prayers for their destruction, are delivered out in Jer 18:21-23.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Jeremiah 18:18-23

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Jeremiah 18:18-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 18