Jeremiah 18:8

8 ¹if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will ²relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

Jeremiah 18:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 18:8

If that nation against whom I have pronounced
Such a sentence as this, should immediately, upon the above declaration, do as Nineveh did: turn from their evil;
their evil of sin, their evil ways and works, as an evidence of the truth of their repentance for former sins: I will repent of the evil that one thought to do unto them;
as they change their course of life, God will change the dispensations of his providence towards them, and not bring upon them the evil of punishment he threatened them with; in which sense repentance can only be understood of God, he doing that which is similar to what men do when they repent of anything; they stop their proceedings, and change their outward conduct; so God proceeds not to do what he threatened to do, and changes his outward behaviour to men; he wills a change, and makes one in his methods of acting, but never changes his will.

Jeremiah 18:8 In-Context

6 "Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD . "Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

7 "At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it;

8 if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.

9 "Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it;

10 if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 7:3-7; Jeremiah 12:16; Ezekiel 18:21
• 2. Psalms 106:45; Jer 26:3, 13, 19; Hosea 11:8; Joel 2:13, 14; Jonah 3:10

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "repent of"