Jeremiah 1

1THE WORDS of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

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

3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

4And the word of YHWH came unto me, saying:

5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, And before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.

6Then said I: ‘Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.’

7But YHWH said unto me: Say not: I am a child; For to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, And whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.

8Be not afraid of them; For I am with thee to deliver thee, Saith YHWH.

9Then YHWH put forth His hand, and touched my mouth; and YHWH said unto me: Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth;

10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, And to destroy and to overthrow; To build, and to plant.

11Moreover the word of YHWH came unto me, saying: ‘Jeremiah, what seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a rod of an almond-tree [Heb. shaked].’

12Then said YHWH unto me: ‘Thou hast well seen; for I watch [Heb. shoked] over My word to perform it.’

13And the word of YHWH came unto me the second time, saying: ‘What seest thou?’ And I said: ‘I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is from the north.’

14Then YHWH said unto me: ‘Out of the north the evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

15For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith YHWH; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.

16And I will utter My judgments against them touching all their wickedness; in that they have forsaken me, and have offered unto other gods, and worshipped the work of their own hands.

17Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee; be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.

18For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

19And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; For I am with thee, saith YHWH, to deliver thee.’