Jeremiah 1:1–12

¹The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,^{* 2}to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.^{* 3}It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.^*

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

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

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

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”^*

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”^{* 7}But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’

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

and you shall speak whatever I command you.

⁸Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

says the Lord.”^*

⁹Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.^*

¹⁰See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,

to pluck up and to pull down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”^*

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