Jeremiah 1:1-10

1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

2to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

4Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

9Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”