Jeremiah 18:10

But let us hear the Lord himself recounting and saying: "Shall I not be able to do to you as the potter, O house of Israel? says the Lord. Behold, as the clay of the potter, so are you in my hands. At the end I will speak against a nation and a kingdom, to remove them and to destroy them; and that nation shall turn from their evils of which I spoke against it, and I will repent of the evils which I purposed to do to them. And at the end I will speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to build it up and to plant it, and they shall do wicked things before me, so as not to hear my voice, and I will repent concerning the good things which I said I would do to them, says the Lord." This concerning the house of the potter we see to be referred not to any of the individuals, but to two nations; for, beginning, he says that he is going to speak about nations, that he may suggest something to those able to hear hidden mysteries: "At the end I will speak against a nation." Seek both the end and the former nation, against which he speaks the things of destruction on account of their sins; and having spoken the things of destruction on account of the sins, he nonetheless promises that if they repent, he will repent concerning the evils which he said he would do to them. And again he speaks concerning another, a second nation, that a whole nation be "built up and planted"; and since this nation that is built up and planted has a good promise, but is able to sin, he says, after speaking these things, if they should depart from the good works: "I will repent concerning the good things which I said I would do to them." What, then, are the two nations — the one first named, to which the word threatens, and the second, to which it promises? Yet he threatens in such a way that, if it should repent, he does not carry out the things of the threat. […]

(Verses 7-10) Suddenly (or at the highest point), I will speak against a nation and against a kingdom, to uproot (or remove) and to destroy, and to utterly destroy it. If that nation turns away from the evil that I have spoken against it, I will relent and not carry out the harm that I planned to do to it. And suddenly (or at the highest point), I will speak about a nation and a kingdom, to build and to plant it. If he does evil in my eyes, so that he does not hear my voice, I will repent of the good that I have spoken to do to him. And in order to signify free will, he says that he both announces evil to a nation and kingdom, or to that one, and again good things: yet not that this will actually happen that he himself has predicted; but rather the opposite will occur, so that good things happen to evil people if they have repented, and bad things happen to good people if they have turned to sin after making promises. And we say this, not because God is unaware that this or that nation or kingdom will come into existence, but because he allows a person to follow their own will, so that they may receive rewards or punishments according to their own choice and their own merit. Not immediately will everything that happens be the accomplishment of man, but of his grace who has bestowed all things: so that the freedom of choice must be reserved, in such a way that the grace of the bestower excels in all things, according to that prophetic saying: Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, he watches in vain who guards it (Psalm 126:1-2). For it is not of the one who wills, nor of the one who runs, but of God who shows mercy (Romans 9).

Moreover, that he might signify thereby the freedom of the will, the Lord said that he would announce punishments and rewards to the nations and to this king or that king. It was not that these events that he had predicted were to happen, but rather that good may be brought out of evil if they repented, or evil brought out of good if, after their resolutions, they returned to sin. Our point here is not that God was ignorant of what the nations and kings would do, but rather that he had endowed the human person with his own will, so that he would receive either a reward or a punishment on the basis of his own merit. Yet, what happens is not entirely dependent on a person, but also the grace that God has bestowed on all, for the freedom of the will must be restrained so that the grace of the Giver would excel in all things, according to the prophecy: "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor for nothing; unless the Lord keeps the city, do the guards watch over it in vain." For "it is not of the one who wills or of the one who runs, but of the God who has mercy."

If it do evil in my sight,.... What is sinful, contrary to the law and will of God, openly and publicly, in a bold and daring manner: that it obey not my voice: in my word, and by my prophets, but turn a deaf ear to them, and slight and despise all instructions, admonitions, and reproofs: then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them; or, "do them good" (t); that is, withhold it from them, and not bestow it on them; but, on the contrary, correct or punish them according to their deserts.

30 ) and hurried Israel back into the wilderness when he had brought them within sight of Canaan. Note, Sin is the great mischief-maker between God and a people; it forfeits the benefit of his promises and spoils the success of their prayers.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens