5 Then the Lord told me to say:
6 People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay.
7 If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation
8 and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.
9 If I promise to make a nation strong,
10 but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.
11 So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.