Jeremiah 1:13

13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, "What do you see?" And I replied, "I see a boiling pot, its mouth tilted from the north [to the south]."

Jeremiah 1:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 1:13

And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time
In the same vision: saying, what seest thou?
besides the almond tree rod; which perhaps was now removed out of sight, and another object appears: and I said, I see a seething pot;
a pot with fire under it, boiling and bubbling up: and the face thereof was towards the north;
either the mouth of the pot where it boiled up, which might be turned to the north in the vision; or that side of the pot, as Kimchi thinks, on which the liquor was poured out; it may be that side of it on which the fire was put to cause it to boil; and so denotes from what quarter the fire came, and was put under it, and the wind that blew it up. The Targum paraphrases the words thus,

``and I said, I see a king boiling as a pot, and the banner of his army, which was brought and came from the north.''

The explanation follows:

Jeremiah 1:13 In-Context

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "I see a branch of an almond tree."

12 The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it."

13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, "What do you see?" And I replied, "I see a boiling pot, its mouth tilted from the north [to the south]."

14 Then the Lord said to me, "Disaster will be poured out from the north on all who live in the land.

15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north." [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. They will come, and each [king] will set up his throne at the entrance to Jerusalem's gates. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah.