The Call of Jeremiah

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁶ “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;^(F) I am too young.”^(G)

⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid^(H) of them, for I am with you^(I) and will rescue^(J) you,” declares the Lord.^(K)

⁹ Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched^(L) my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.^{(M) 10} See, today I appoint you over nations^(N) and kingdoms to uproot^(O) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”^(P)

¹¹ The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”^(Q)

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching^[b](R) to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹³ The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”^(S)

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

¹⁴ The Lord said to me, “From the north^(T) disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵ I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

¹⁷ “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say^(AB) to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified^(AC) by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you^(AD) a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome^(AE) you, for I am with you^(AF) and will rescue^(AG) you,” declares the Lord.

²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled^(A) in your hearing.”

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.^(B)

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown^(C) what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”^(D)

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.^{(E) 25} I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.^{(F) 26} Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.^{(G) 27} And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[a] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”^(H)

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town,^(I) and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.^(J)