1:1 | The following is a record of what Jeremiah son of Hilkiah prophesied.* He was one of the priests who lived at Anathoth in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. |
1:2 | The Lord* began to speak to him* in the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon ruled over Judah. |
1:3 | The Lord also spoke to him when Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled over Judah, and he continued to speak to him until the fifth month of the eleventh year* that Zedekiah son of Josiah ruled over Judah. That was when the people of Jerusalem* were taken into exile.* |
1:4 | The Lord said to me, |
1:5 | “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb* I chose you.* Before you were born I set you apart. I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.” |
1:6 | I answered, “Oh, Lord God,* I really* do not know how to speak well enough for that,* for I am too young.”* |
1:7 | The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go* to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. |
1:8 | Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you,* for I will be with you to protect* you,” says the Lord. |
1:9 | Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I will most assuredly give you the words you are to speak for me.* |
1:10 | Know for certain that* I hereby give you the authority to announce to nations and kingdoms that they will be* uprooted and torn down, destroyed and demolished, rebuilt and firmly planted.”* |
1:11 | Later the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” |
1:12 | Then the Lord said, “You have observed correctly. This means* I am watching to make sure my threats are carried out.”* |
1:13 | The Lord again asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water; it is tipped toward us from the north.”* |
1:14 | Then the Lord said, “This means* destruction will break out from the north on all who live in the land. |
1:15 | For I will soon summon all the peoples of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord. “They will come and their kings will set up their thrones* near the entrances of the gates of Jerusalem.* They will attack all the walls surrounding it, and all the towns in Judah.* |
1:16 | In this way* I will pass sentence* on the people of Jerusalem and Judah* because of all their wickedness. For they rejected me and offered sacrifices to other gods, worshiping what they made with their own hands.”* |
1:17 | “But you, Jeremiah,* get yourself ready!* Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them.* |
1:18 | I, the Lord,* hereby promise to make you* as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in* the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. |
1:19 | They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord. |