Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
What does Jeremiah 18:5 mean?
While Jeremiah looks upon the potter's work, God darts into his mind two great truths. God has authority, and power, to form and fashion kingdoms and nations as he pleases.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Jeremiah 18:1-5 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Jeremiah 18:5
While he was in the potter's house, and after he had observed his manner of working, and the change he had made in his work, the Lord spoke to him, and applied it in the following manner.
Context in Jeremiah 18
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Jeremiah 18 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as conflict with kings, priests, and prophets. Jeremiah combines fierce warning, autobiographical anguish, symbolic action, the promise of a new covenant, and the trauma of Jerusalem’s fall. Read this chapter with the wider themes of judgment, tears, and new covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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