Jeremiah 1

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

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

³ and in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah — until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴ The word of the LORD came to me:

⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you came out from the womb I set you apart;
a prophet to the nations I appointed you."

⁶ And I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Look — I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."

⁷ But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for to everyone I send you to, you will go, and everything I command you, you will speak.

⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you" — this is the declaration of the LORD.

⁹ Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Look — I have put my words in your mouth.

¹⁰ See, I have appointed you today over nations and over kingdoms — to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

¹¹ The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."

¹² And the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to carry it out."

¹³ The word of the LORD came to me a second time: "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north."

¹⁴ And the LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be let loose upon all who dwell in the land.

¹⁵ For look — I am summoning all the clans of the kingdoms of the north" — this is the declaration of the LORD — "and they will come, and each will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls surrounding it, and against all the cities of Judah.

¹⁶ And I will declare my judgments against them for all their wickedness, in that they abandoned me and burned incense to other gods and bowed down to the works of their own hands.

¹⁷ But you — gird up your loins! Stand up and speak to them everything that I command you. Do not be shattered before them, lest I shatter you before them.

¹⁸ And as for me — look, today I have made you into a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land: against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.

¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you" — this is the declaration of the LORD — "to deliver you."