Jeremiah 1

¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

²To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his rule.

³And it came again in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah; till Jerusalem was taken away in the fifth month.

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵Before you were formed in the body of your mother I had knowledge of you, and before your birth I made you holy; I have given you the work of being a prophet to the nations.

⁶Then said I, O Lord God! see, I have no power of words, for I am a child.

⁷But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a child: for wherever I send you, you are to go, and whatever I give you orders to say, you are to say.

⁸Have no fear because of them: for I am with you, to keep you safe, says the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord put out his hand, touching my mouth; and the Lord said to me, See, I have put my words in your mouth:

¹⁰See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the kingdoms, for uprooting and smashing down, for destruction and overturning, for building up and planting.

¹¹Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond-tree.

¹²Then the Lord said to me, You have seen well: for I keep watch over my word to give effect to it.

¹³And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and its face is from the north.

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, Out of the north evil will come, bursting out on all the people of the land.

¹⁵For see, I will send for all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they will come, everyone placing his high seat at the way into Jerusalem, and against its walls on every side, and against all the towns of Judah.

¹⁶And I will give my decision against them on account of all their evil-doing; because they have given me up, burning perfumes to other gods and worshipping the works of their hands.

¹⁷So make yourself ready, and go and say to them everything I give you orders to say: do not be overcome by fear of them, or I will send fear on you before them.

¹⁸For see, this day have I made you a walled town, and an iron pillar, and walls of brass, against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its captains, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

¹⁹They will be fighting against you, but they will not overcome you: for I am with you, says the Lord, to give you salvation.

Jeremiah 1

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

³It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵"Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

⁶Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak; for I am a child."

⁷But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a child;' for to whoever I shall send you, you shall go, and whatever I shall command you, you shall speak.

⁸Do not be afraid because of them; for I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

¹⁰Behold, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."

¹²Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it."

¹³The word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, "What do you see?" I said, "I see a boiling caldron; and it is tipping away from the north."

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, "Out of the north evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the Lord; "and they shall come, and they shall each set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

¹⁷"You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.

¹⁸For, behold, I have made you this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

¹⁹They will fight against you; but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you," says the Lord, "to deliver you."