Jeremiah
Chapter 1
1 These are the words of Jeremiah, Hilkiah’s son, a priest from Anathoth in Benjamin’s territory.
2 God spoke to them when Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his rule.
3 It happened in the time of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, Josiah’s son, king of Judah, until Jerusalem was taken away as prisoners in the fifth month.
4 God spoke to me, saying,
5 Before I made you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.
6 Then I said, “Oh, God! Look, I can’t speak: I am just a child.”
7 But God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child.’ You must go wherever I send you and speak whatever I tell you.”
8 Don’t be scared of their looks: I am with you to save you, says God.
9 Then God reached out His hand and touched my mouth. And God said to me, “Look, I have placed my words in your mouth.”
10 Today, I have given you power over nations and kingdoms to uproot, tear down, destroy, and overthrow, to build and to plant.
11 God’s message came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see the branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then God said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I will quickly carry out what I have said.”
13 God spoke to me again, asking, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a boiling pot, tilted from the north.”
14 Then God said to me, “From the north, a bad thing will spread over all the people living in the land.”
15 Look, I will summon all the families from the northern kingdoms, says God. They will come and each will place his throne at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates, around all its walls, and near all the towns of Judah.
16 I will announce my decisions against them for all their evil, because they left me, burned incense to other gods, and worshiped what their hands made.
17 Get ready, stand up, and tell them everything I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of them, or I will confuse you in front of them.
18 Today, I have made you like a protected city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the entire country, its kings, leaders, priests, and all the people.
19 They will fight against you, but they won’t win, because I am with you, says God, to save you.