Jeremiah 1

¹The wordis of Jeremye, sone of Helchie, of the preestis that weren in Anathot, in the lond of Beniamyn.

²For the word of the Lord was maad to hym in the daies of Josie, the sone of Amon, kyng of Juda, in the threttenethe yeer of his rewme.

³And it was don in the daies of Joachym, the sone of Josie, the king of Juda, til to the endyng of the enleuenthe yeer of Sedechie, sone of Josie, kyng of Juda, til the passyng ouer, ether caitifte, of Jerusalem, in the fyuethe monethe.

⁴And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

⁵and seide, Bifor that Y fourmede thee in the wombe, Y knewe thee; and bifor that thou yedist out of the wombe, Y halewide thee; and Y yaf thee a profete among folkis.

⁶And Y seide, A! A! A! Lord God, lo! Y kan not speke, for Y am a child.

⁷And the Lord seide to me, Nyle thou seie, that Y am a child; for thou schalt go to alle thingis, to whiche Y schal sende thee, and thou schalt speke alle thingis, what euer thingis Y schal comaunde to thee.

⁸Drede thou not of the face of hem, for Y am with thee, to delyuere thee, seith the Lord.

⁹And the Lord sente his hond, and touchide my mouth; and the Lord seide to me, Lo! Y haue youe my wordis in thi mouth; lo!

¹⁰Y haue ordeynede thee to day on folkis, and on rewmes, that thou drawe vp, and distrie, and leese, and scatere, and bilde, and plaunte.

¹¹And the word of the Lord was maad to me, and seide, What seest thou, Jeremye?

¹²And Y seide, Y se a yerde wakynge. And the Lord seide to me, Thou hast seen wel, for Y schal wake on my word, to do it.

¹³And the word of the Lord was maad the secounde tyme to me, and seide, What seest thou? Y se a pot buylynge, and the face therof fro the face of the north.

¹⁴And the Lord seide to me, Fro the north schal be schewid al yuel on alle the dwelleris of the lond.

¹⁵For lo! Y schal clepe togidere alle the naciouns of rewmes of the north, seith the Lord, and thei schulen come, and sette ech man his seete in the entryng of the yatis of Jerusalem, and on alle the wallis therof in cumpas, and on alle the citees of Juda.

¹⁶And Y schal speke my domes with hem on al the malice of hem, that forsoken me, and maden sacrifice to alien goddis, and worschipiden the werk of her hondis.

¹⁷Therfor girde thou thi leendis, and rise thou, and speke to hem alle thingis whiche Y comaunde to thee; drede thou not of the face of hem, for Y schal not make thee for to drede the cheer of hem.

¹⁸For Y yaf thee to dai in to a strong citee, and in to an yrun piler, and in to a brasun wal, on al the lond, to the kyngis of Juda, and to the princis therof, and to the preestis therof, and to al the puple of the lond.

¹⁹And thei schulen fiyte ayens thee, and thei schulen not haue the maistrie; for Y am with thee, seith the Lord, that Y delyuere 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.