Jeremiah 1:1-10

1The words of 1Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in 2Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of 3Josiah the son of 4Amon, king of Judah, in the 5thirteenth year of his reign. 3It came also in the days of 6Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of 7Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,5“Before I 8formed you in the womb I knew you, And 9before you were born I consecrated you; I have 10appointed you a prophet to the nations.”6Then 11I said, “Alas, Lord 12God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because 13I am a youth.”7But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ 14Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And 15all that I command you, you shall speak.816Do not be afraid of them, For 17I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord. 9Then the Lord stretched out His hand and 18touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have 19put My words in your mouth.10See, 20I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, 21To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, 22To build and to plant.”