¹The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one aof the priests who were in bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of cJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in dthe thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of eJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and funtil the end of the eleventh year of gZedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, huntil the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵i“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet kto the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, lI do not know how to speak, mfor I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and nwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

⁸oDo not be afraid of them,

pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

⁹qThen the Lord put out his hand and rtouched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put smy words in your mouth.

¹⁰See, I have set you this day kover nations and over kingdoms,

tto pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, u“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond1 branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see va boiling pot, facing away wfrom the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, w“Out of the north disaster2 shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, xI am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, yand they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And zI will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ain forsaking me. bThey have made offerings to other gods and cworshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ddress yourself for work;3 arise, and esay to them everything that I command you. fDo not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ga fortified city, han iron pillar, and ibronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹iThey will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for jI am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”