Jeremiah 1

¹Words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who are in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, ²unto whom the word of Jehovah hath been in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, ³and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, ⁵‘Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.’ ⁶And I say, ‘Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known—to speak, for I am a youth.’ ⁷And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Do not say, I am a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest. ⁸Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee am I to deliver thee,—an affirmation of Jehovah.’ ⁹And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth. ¹⁰See, I have charged thee this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.’

¹¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, ‘What art thou seeing, Jeremiah?’ And I say, ‘A rod of an almond tree I am seeing.’ ¹²And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Thou hast well seen: for I am watching over My word to do it.’ ¹³And there is a word of Jehovah unto me a second time, saying, ‘What art thou seeing?’ And I say, ‘A blown pot I am seeing, and its face is from the north.’ ¹⁴And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘From the north is the evil loosed against all inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For, lo, I am calling for all families of the kingdoms of the north,—an affirmation of Jehovah—and they have come, and put each his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and by its walls round about, and by all cities of Judah. ¹⁶And I have spoken My judgments with them concerning all their evil, in that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, and bow themselves to the works of their own hands.

¹⁷‘And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them. ¹⁸And I, lo, I have given thee this day for a fenced city, and for an iron pillar, and for brazen walls over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to its heads, to its priests, and to the people of the land; ¹⁹and they have fought against thee, and they prevail not against thee; for with thee am I,—an affirmation of Jehovah—to deliver thee.

Chapter 2