The Words of Jeremiah
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
2 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It 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 fifth month when the people of Jerusalem were taken captive.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I chose you.
Before you were born, I sanctified you.
I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 But I said, “No, Lord God! I don’t know how to speak, for I am still a child.”
7 Then the Lord said to me,
“Do not say,
‘I am a child,’
for you must go
to whomever I send you,
and you must say
whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid because of them,
for I am with you to rescue you,”
declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me,
“I have put my words
in your mouth.
10 I have, today, set you
over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to fulfill it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
I said, “I see a boiling cauldron, and it is tilting away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north, disaster will break out on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord.
“They will come, and each king will establish his throne
at the entrance to the gates of Jerusalem,
against all the walls surrounding it,
and against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will utter my judgments against them
concerning all their wickedness,
for they have forsaken me,
and have burned incense to other gods
and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 “You therefore get up, put your belt on your waist and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be afraid of them, lest I terrify you in front of them. 18 For today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you”, says the Lord, “to rescue you.”