1 My name is Jeremiah. I am a priest, and my father Hilkiah and everyone else in my family are from Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. This book contains the things that the Lord told me to say. 2 The Lord first spoke to me in the thirteenth year that Josiah was king of Judah, 3 and he continued to speak to me during the rule of Josiah's son Jehoiakim. The last time the Lord spoke to me was in the fifth month of the eleventh year that Josiah's son Zedekiah was king. That was also when the people of Jerusalem were taken away as prisoners.
The Lord Chooses Jeremiah
4 The Lord said:
5 “Jeremiah, I am your Creator,
and before you were born,
I chose you to speak for me
to the nations.”
6 I replied, “I'm not a good speaker, Lord, and I'm too young.”
7 “Don't say you're too young,” the Lord answered. “If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word! 8 I promise to be with you and keep you safe, so don't be afraid.”
9 The Lord reached out his hand, then he touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say, 10 and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me. You will tell them of doom and destruction, and of rising and rebuilding again.”
11 The Lord showed me something in a vision. Then he asked, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “A branch of almonds that ripen early.”
12 “That's right,” the Lord replied, “and I always rise early to keep a promise.”
13 Then the Lord showed me something else and asked, “What do you see now?”
I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water in the north, and it's about to spill out toward us.”
14 The Lord said:
I will pour out destruction
all over the land.
15 Just watch while I send
for the kings of the north.
They will attack and capture
Jerusalem and other towns,
then set up their thrones
at the gates of Jerusalem.
16 I will punish my people,
because they are guilty
of turning from me
to worship idols.
17 Jeremiah, get ready!
Go and tell the people
what I command you to say.
Don't be frightened by them,
or I will make you terrified
while they watch.
18 My power will make you strong
like a fortress
or a column of iron
or a wall of bronze.
You will oppose all of Judah,
including its kings and leaders,
its priests and people.
19 They will fight back,
but they won't win.
I, the Lord, give my word—
I won't let them harm you.
1 The wordes of Ieremiah the sonne of Hilkiah one of the Priests that were at Anathoth in the lande of Beniamin. 2 To whom the worde of the Lord came in the dayes of Iosiah the sonne of Amon King of Iudah in the thirteenth yeere of his reigne: 3 And also in the dayes of Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah King of Iudah vnto the ende of the eleuenth yeere of Zedekiah, the sonne of Iosiah King of Iudah, euen vnto the carying away of Ierusalem captiue in the fift moneth. 4 Then the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the wombe, I knewe thee, and before thou camest out of the wombe, I sanctified thee, and ordeined thee to be a Prophet vnto the nations. 6 Then said I, Oh, Lord God, behold, I can not speake, for I am a childe. 7 But the Lord said vnto me, Say not, I am a childe: for thou shalt goe to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoeuer I command thee, shalt thou speake. 8 Be not afraide of their faces: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, saith the Lord. 9 Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said vnto me, Beholde, I haue put my wordes in thy mouth. 10 Beholde, this day haue I set thee ouer the nations and ouer the kingdomes to plucke vp, and to roote out, and to destroye and throwe downe, to builde, and to plant. 11 After this the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying, Ieremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almonde tree. 12 Then saide the Lord vnto me, Thou hast seene aright: for I will hasten my worde to performe it. 13 Againe the worde of the Lord came vnto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I saide, I see a seething pot looking out of the North. 14 Then saide the Lord vnto me, Out of the North shall a plague be spred vpon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For loe, I will call all the families of the kingdomes of the North, saith the Lord, and they shall come, and euery one shall set his throne in the entring of the gates of Ierusalem, and on all the walles thereof rounde about, and in all the cities of Iudah. 16 And I will declare vnto them my iudgements touching all the wickednesse of them that haue forsaken me, and haue burnt incense vnto other gods, and worshipped the workes of their owne handes. 17 Thou therefore trusse vp thy loynes, and arise and speake vnto them all that I commaund thee: be not afraide of their faces, lest I destroy thee before them. 18 For I, beholde, I this day haue made thee a defenced citie, and an yron pillar and walles of brasse against the whole lande, against the Kings of Iudah, and against the princes thereof, against the Priestes thereof and against the people of the lande. 19 For they shall fight against thee, but they shall not preuaile against thee: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, sayth the Lord.