Jeremiah 1

1The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth^a in the territory of Benjamin. ²The word of the Lord came^b to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah^c son of Amon king of Judah, ³and through the reign of Jehoiakim^d son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah^e son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.^f

The Call of Jeremiah

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

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb^g I knew^ah you,

before you were bornⁱ I set you apart;^j

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.^k”

⁶“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;^l I am too young.”^m

⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸Do not be afraidⁿ of them, for I am with you^o and will rescue^p you,” declares the Lord.^q

⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched^r my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.^{s 10}See, today I appoint you over nations^t and kingdoms to uproot^u and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”^v

¹¹The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”^w

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹²The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching^bx to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”^y

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

¹⁴The Lord said to me, “From the north^z disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones

in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;

they will come against all her surrounding walls

and against all the towns of Judah.^a

¹⁶I will pronounce my judgments^b on my people

because of their wickedness^c in forsaking me,^d

in burning incense to other gods^e

and in worshiping^f what their hands have made.^g

¹⁷“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say^h to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrifiedⁱ by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸Today I have made you^j a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹They will fight against you but will not overcome^k you, for I am with you^l and will rescue^m you,” declares the Lord.