Jeremiah 1:1-10

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1 The words of ^(A)Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in ^(B)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^(C)Josiah the son of ^(D)Amon, king of Judah, in the ^(E)thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(F)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of ^(G)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

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

⁵“Before I ^(H)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And ^(I)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have ^(J)appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
⁶Then ^(K)I said, “Oh, Lord ^[a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because ^(L)I am a youth.”
⁷But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
^(M)Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And ^(N)all that I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(O)Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(P)I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord stretched out His hand and ^(Q)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

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