Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I (A)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And (B)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have (C)appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Then (D)I said, “Oh, Lord [a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because (E)I am a youth.”
But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
(F)Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And (G)all that I command you, you shall speak.
(H)Do not be afraid of them,
For (I)I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord stretched out His hand and (J)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have (K)put My words in your mouth.
10 See, (L)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
(M)To root out and to tear down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
(N)To build and to plant.”

The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot

11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, (O)Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an [b]almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for (P)I am [c]watching over My word to perform it.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 1:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Jeremiah 1:11 Heb shaqed, see note v 12
  3. Jeremiah 1:12 Heb shoqed, a wordplay on almond in v 11 (see note v 11)

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb(A) I knew[a](B) you,
    before you were born(C) I set you apart;(D)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(E)

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

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. Do not be afraid(H) of them, for I am with you(I) and will rescue(J) you,” declares the Lord.(K)

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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
  2. Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.