The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

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- Chapter 1 -

The wordes of Ieremiah the sonne of Hilkiah one of the Priests that were at Anathoth in the lande of Beniamin.

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:

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.

Then the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

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.

Then said I, Oh, Lord God, behold, I can not speake, for I am a childe.

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.

Be not afraide of their faces: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, saith the Lord.

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.

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.

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.

Then saide the Lord vnto me, Thou hast seene aright: for I will hasten my worde to performe it.

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.

Then saide the Lord vnto me, Out of the North shall a plague be spred vpon all the inhabitants of the land.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For they shall fight against thee, but they shall not preuaile against thee: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, sayth the Lord.

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

The LORD’s(a) word came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

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

Now the LORD’s word came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord

(b)

GOD! Behold,(c) I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”

But the LORD said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you.

Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says the LORD.

Then the LORD stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. Then the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Moreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it.”

The LORD’s word came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a boiling cauldron; and it is tipping away from the north.”

Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north, evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.

For behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the LORD. “They will come, and they will each set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah.

I will utter my judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

“You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.

For behold, I have made you today a fortified city, 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.

They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says the LORD, “to rescue you.”

Footnotes

(a)1:2 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.

(b)1:6 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”

(c)1:6 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.