Jeremiah 1

¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests, who dwelt in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin;

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

³to whom it also came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem into captivity in the fifth month.

⁴The word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

⁵Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before thou camest into the world, I chose thee; I appointed thee to be a prophet to the nations.

⁶Then said I, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Behold, I am not able to speak; for I am a child.

⁷But Jehovah said to me, Say not, I am a child; but go to whomever I send thee, and speak whatever I command thee!

⁸Be not afraid of them! For I am with thee to help thee, saith Jehovah.

⁹Then Jehovah put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. Jehovah also said to me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

¹⁰Behold, I have set thee this day over nations and over kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to overthrow; and to build, and to plant.

¹¹Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, I see a rod of almond-wood.

¹²And Jehovah said to me, Thou hast seen right; for I am watchful over my word to perform it.

¹³And the word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling pot, whose face is turned from the north.

¹⁴And Jehovah said to me, From the north shall evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls around, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶And I will pronounce my judgments against them for all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the work of their own hands.

¹⁷Thou, therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee; be not afraid of them, lest I confound thee before them.

¹⁸For, behold, I make thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass against all this land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

¹⁹They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I will be with thee, saith Jehovah, to help thee.

Jeremiah 1

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that 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, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

⁴Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

⁵Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

⁶Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

⁷But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

⁸Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

¹⁰See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.

¹²Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.

¹³And 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.

¹⁴Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

¹⁷Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

¹⁸For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

¹⁹And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.