Jeremiah 1:13

Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The LORD speaks to Jeremiah, repeating a prophetic inquiry immediately after confirming He is watching over His word to accomplish it. This occurs during an ongoing dialogue where God initiates a second vision to reveal impending judgment.

The words — The Hebrew שֵׁנִית (she.Nit) marks a second occurrence, signaling a repeat divine question. The phrase מָה אַתָּה (mah 'a.Tah) literally asks “what [are] you [seeing]?” prompting Jeremiah’s direct visual report.

The thread — The boiling pot imagery recurs in Ezekiel 11:3 and 11:7, where the city is called the pot and its inhabitants the meat. Genesis 41:32 also uses doubled divine revelation to confirm an unchangeable decree, paralleling this repeated prophetic encounter.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that divine observation precedes and guarantees historical judgment. It requires the reader to accept that prophetic visions are not symbolic distractions but precise announcements of impending geopolitical disaster.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַיְהִ֨יva/y.Hiand/ it came דְבַר־de.var-[the] word of יְהוָ֤ה׀Yah.wehYahweh אֵלַי֙'e.La/ito/ me שֵׁנִ֣יתshe.Nita second [time]לֵאמֹ֔רle./Mor<to>/ saying מָ֥הmahwhat?אַתָּ֖ה'a.Tah[are] you רֹאֶ֑הro.'Ehseeing וָאֹמַ֗רva./'o.Marand/ I said סִ֤ירsira pot נָפ֙וּחַ֙na.Fu.achblown upon אֲנִ֣י'a.NiI רֹאֶ֔הro.'Eh[am] seeing וּפָנָ֖יוu./fa.Na/vand/ face/ its מִפְּנֵ֥יmi./pe.Nei[is] away from/ [the] face of צָפֽוֹנָה׃tza.Fo.na/hnorth/ -ward

King James Version

And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 11:3 They are saying, ‘Is not the time near to build houses? The city is the cooking pot, and we are the meat.’
Ezekiel 11:7 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: The slain you have laid within this city are the meat, and the city is the pot; but I will remove you from it.
Genesis 41:32 Moreover, because the dream was given to Pharaoh in two versions, the matter has been decreed by God, and He will carry it out shortly.
Ezekiel 24:3 Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Put the pot on the fire; put it on and pour in the water.
Zechariah 4:2 “What do you see?” he asked. “I see a solid gold lampstand,” I replied, “with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven spouts to the lamps.
2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”