The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were ^ain Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^aJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, ^bin the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of ^aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^buntil the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^cuntil the carrying away of Jerusalem captive ^din the fifth month.

The Prophet Is Called

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

5

“Before I ^aformed you in the womb ^bI knew you;

Before you were born I ^csanctified¹ you;

I ²ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I:

^a“Ah, Lord God!

Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

7 But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

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

And ^awhatever I command you, you shall speak.

8

^aDo not be afraid of their faces,

For ^bI am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and ^atouched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have ^bput My words in your mouth.

10

^aSee, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To ^broot out and to pull down,

To destroy and to throw down,

To build and to plant.”

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a ¹branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ¹ready to perform My word.”
13 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
And I said, “I see ^aa boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me:

“Out of the ^anorth calamity shall break forth

On all the inhabitants of the land.

15

For behold, I am ^acalling

All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;

“They shall come and ^beach one set his throne

At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,

Against all its walls all around,

And against all the cities of Judah.

16

I will utter My judgments

Against them concerning all their wickedness,

Because ^athey have forsaken Me,

Burned ^bincense to other gods,

And worshiped the works of their own ^chands.

17

“Therefore ^aprepare yourself and arise,

And speak to them all that I command you.

^bDo not be dismayed before their faces,

Lest I dismay you before them.

18

For behold, I have made you this day

^aA fortified city and 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 shall not prevail against you.

For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”