Jeremiah 1:1–12

^*The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, ^aof the priests that 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, ^din the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^eJehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, ^funto the end of the eleventh year of ^gZedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, ^hunto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive ^hiin the fifth month.

⁴Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, ⁵Before I ^jformed thee in the belly ^kI knew thee; and ^lbefore thou camest forth out of the womb I ^msanctified thee, and I ^†ordained thee a prophet ⁿunto the nations. ⁶Then said I, ^oAh, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for ^pI 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 ^qwhatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. ^8rsBe not afraid of their faces: for ^stuI am with thee ^tto deliver thee, saith the Lord. ⁹Then ^vthe Lord put forth his hand, and ^wtouched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, ^xI have put my words in thy mouth. ¹⁰See, I have this day set thee ⁿover the nations and over the kingdoms, ^yto 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 ^za rod of an almond tree. ¹²Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for ^aI will hasten my word to perform it.