Jeremiah 1:1–12

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^aof the priests who were in ^bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^cJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in ^dthe thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^eJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^funtil the end of the eleventh year of ^gZedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^huntil the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

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

⁵ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^lI do not know how to speak, ^mfor I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and ⁿwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

^8oDo not be afraid of them,

^pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

^9qThen the Lord put out his hand and ^rtouched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^smy words in your mouth.

¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^kover nations and over kingdoms,

^tto pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^u“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond¹ branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”