Jeremiah 1:4–19

⁴Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying,

⁵“Before I ^aformed you in the ¹innermost parts I knew you,

And ^bbefore you came out from the womb I set you apart;

I have ^cgiven you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶Then ^aI said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh!

Behold, I do not know how to speak

Because ^bI am a youth.”

⁷But Yahweh said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

^aBecause everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And ^ball that I command you, you shall speak.

⁸“^aDo not be afraid of them,

For ^bI am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.

⁹Then Yahweh sent forth His hand and ^atouched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,

“Behold, I have ^bput My words in your mouth.

¹⁰“See, ^aI have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

^bTo uproot and to tear down,

To cause to perish and to pull down,

^cTo build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot

¹¹Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “What do you see, ^aJeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an ¹almond tree.”

¹²Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well, for ^aI am ¹watching over My word to do it.”

¹³The word of Yahweh came to me a second time saying, “^aWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling ^bpot, facing away from the north.”

¹⁴Then Yahweh said to me, “^aFrom the north the evil ¹will break open on all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵“For, behold, I am calling ^aall the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh; “and they will come, and each one of them will ^bput his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the ^ccities of Judah.

¹⁶“I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have ^aforsaken Me and have ^bburned incense to other gods and worshiped the ^cworks of their own hands.

¹⁷“Now, ^agird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which I command you. ^bDo not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them.

¹⁸“Now behold, I have given you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests, and to the people of the land.

¹⁹“And they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for ^aI am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.