Jeremiah 1:4–19

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴The Lord said to me, ⁵“I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.”

⁶I answered, “Sovereign Lord, I don’t know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. ⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

⁹Then the Lord stretched out his hand, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak. ¹⁰Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Two Visions

¹¹The Lord asked me, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I answered, “A branch of an almond tree.” ¹²“You are right,” the Lord said, “and I am watching^a to see that my words come true.” ¹³Then the Lord spoke to me again. “What else do you see?” he asked.

I answered, “I see a pot boiling in the north, and it is about to tip over this way.”

¹⁴He said to me, “Destruction will boil over from the north on all who live in this land, ¹⁵because I am calling all the nations in the north to come. Their kings will set up their thrones at the gates of Jerusalem and round its walls, and also round the other cities of Judah. ¹⁶I will punish my people because they have sinned; they have abandoned me, have offered sacrifices to other gods, and have made idols and worshipped them. ¹⁷Get ready, Jeremiah; go and tell them everything I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them now, or I will make you even more afraid when you are with them. ^18–19Listen, Jeremiah! Everyone in this land—the kings of Judah, the officials, the priests, and the people—will be against you. But today I am giving you the strength to resist them; you will be like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. They will not defeat you, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”