Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests.
Parallel translations
- WEB Thus said Yahweh, “Go, and buy a potter’s earthen bottle, and take some of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;
- KJV Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;
- BSB This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders of the priests,
- NASB This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests.
- NLT This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God tells Jeremiah to buy a clay flask and gather elders and priests as witnesses. A solemn sign-act is about to be performed.
Overview
The Lord commands a new symbolic action involving a potter's earthenware bottle and respected witnesses. The presence of elders and senior priests lends public weight to the message. This sets the stage for a dramatic enacted prophecy of irreversible judgment, building on the potter imagery of chapter 18.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Ezek 8:11–12Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.
- Lam 4:2The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, How are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!
- Isa 30:14He will break it as a potter’s vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing, so that there won’t be found among the broken piece a piece good enough to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
- Num 11:16Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you.
- Jer 18:2–4“Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words.”
- 1 Chr 24:4–6There were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and they were divided like this: of the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen, heads of fathers’ houses; and of the sons of Ithamar, according to their fathers’ houses, eight.
- Jer 19:10–11“Then you shall break the bottle in the sight of the men who go with you,
- 2 Kgs 19:2He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
- 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
- Matt 26:3Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas.
- Ezek 9:6Kill utterly the old man, the young man, the virgin, little children and women; but don’t come near any man on whom is the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” Then they began at the old men who were before the house.
- Jer 26:17Then certain of the elders of the land rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,
- Matt 27:41–42Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees, and the elders, said,
- Jer 32:14Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.’
- Acts 4:5–6In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem.
- Matt 27:1Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 19:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.