Jeremiah 1
Christian Standard Bible
1 The words of Jeremiah,(A) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(B) in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(C) son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(D) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(E) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(F)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(G)
6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak(H) since I am only a youth.”(I)
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am only a youth,”(J)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(K)
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,(L)
for I will be with you to rescue you.(M)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth,(N) and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with my words.(O)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(P)
to build and plant.(Q)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” (R)
I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over[a] my word to accomplish it.”(S) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me asking, “What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,(T) its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[b] from the north(U) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”(V)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 “I will pronounce my judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(W)
17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(X) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the one who has made you a fortified city,(Y) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(Z) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(AA) since I am with you to rescue you.”(AB)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Jeremiah 1
New Living Translation
1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.[a] 3 The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August[b] of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.
Jeremiah’s Call and First Visions
4 The Lord gave me this message:
5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 9 Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
10 Today I appoint you to stand up
against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
and plant.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching,[c] and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”
13 Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?”
And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”
14 “Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land. 15 Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken!
“They will set their thrones
at the gates of the city.
They will attack its walls
and all the other towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce judgment
on my people for all their evil—
for deserting me and burning incense to other gods.
Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!
17 “Get up and prepare for action.
Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say.
Do not be afraid of them,
or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
18 For see, today I have made you strong
like a fortified city that cannot be captured,
like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.
You will stand against the whole land—
the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
19 They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 1:2 The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign was 627 B.c.
- 1:3 Hebrew In the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in Jeremiah can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. The fifth month in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign occurred within the months of August and September 586 B.c. Also see 52:12 and the note there.
- 1:12 The Hebrew word for “watching” (shoqed) sounds like the word for “almond tree” (shaqed).
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
