Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

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 as a prophet to the nations.”6Then 11I said, “Oh, 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 save 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 root out and to tear down, To destroy and to overthrow, 22To build and to plant.”

The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot

11And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, 23Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an 24almond tree.” 12Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for 25I am 26watching over My word to perform it.”

13And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “27What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling 28pot, facing away from the north.” 14Then the Lord said to me, “29Out of the north the evil 30will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. 15For, behold, I am calling 31all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and 32place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the 33cities of Judah. 16And I will 34pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have 35abandoned Me and have 3637offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the 38works of their own hands. 17Now, 39belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. 40Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them. 18Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land. 19And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for 41I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.