1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, oneaEzek. 1:3 of the priests who were inbch. 29:27; 32:7; Josh. 21:18 Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days ofcSee 2 Kgs. 22; 23:1-30 Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, indch. 25:3; 36:2 the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days ofech. 25:1; 36:1; See 2 Kgs. 23:34–24:6 Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, andfch. 39:2 until the end of the eleventh year ofgSee 2 Kgs. 24:17–25:7 Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah,hSee 2 Kgs. 25:8-11 until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 iSee Isa. 44:2 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were bornj[John 10:36] I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophetk[Isa. 49:6]; See ch. 25:15-29; ch. 46–51 to the nations. ”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold,l[Ex. 4:10] I do not know how to speak,m[1 Kgs. 3:7] for I am only a youth. ”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth ’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
andnver. 17; Ezek. 2:7 whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 oEzek. 2:6; 3:9 Do not be afraid of them,
pch. 15:20; See Ex. 3:12 for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord. ”
9 q[Ezek. 2:9] Then the Lord put out his hand andr[Isa. 6:7] touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have putsch. 5:14 my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this dayk[See ver. 5 above] over nations and over kingdoms,
tch. 18:7; 31:28; 45:4; [2 Cor. 10:4, 5] to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant. ”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,u[Amos 7:8] “Jeremiah, what do you see? ” And I said, “I see an almond branch. ” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it. ”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see? ” And I said, “I seevEzek. 24:3; [Ezek. 22:21] a boiling pot, facing awaywch. 4:6; 6:1; 10:22 from the north. ” 14 Then the Lord said to me,w[See ver. 13 above] “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold,x[ch. 25:9] I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord,y[ch. 39:3; 43:10] and 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. 16 Andzch. 4:12 I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evilach. 19:4; 22:9 in forsaking me.bch. 7:9; 44:3 They have made offerings to other gods andcch. 25:6, 7; Isa. 2:8; Acts 7:41 worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you,d[1 Kgs. 18:46; 1 Pet. 1:13] dress yourself for work; arise, andever. 7 say to them everything that I command you.fver. 8; Ezek. 3:9 Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this dayg[Isa. 50:7] a fortified city,hRev. 3:12 an iron pillar, andich. 15:20; [ch. 6:27] bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 i[See ver. 18 above] They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, forjver. 8; [Acts 18:9, 10] I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you. ”