Jeremiah 1

English Standard Version

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^(A)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 Amon, king of Judah, in ^(D)the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(E)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^(F)until the end of the eleventh year of ^(G)Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(H)until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

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

⁵^(I)“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^(J)I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^(K)to the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^(L)I do not know how to speak, ^(M)for I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ^(N)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(O)Do not be afraid of them,
^(P)for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

⁹^(Q)Then the Lord put out his hand and ^(R)touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^(S)my words in your mouth.
¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^(T)over nations and over kingdoms,
^(U)to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(V)“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond^[a] branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^(W)a boiling pot, facing away ^(X)from the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, ^(Y)“Out of the north disaster^[b] shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, ^(Z)I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^(AA)and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And ^(AB)I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^(AC)in forsaking me. ^(AD)They have made offerings to other gods and ^(AE)worshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ^(AF)dress yourself for work;^[c] arise, and ^(AG)say to them everything that I command you. ^(AH)Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ^(AI)a fortified city, ^(AJ)an iron pillar, and ^(AK)bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹^(AL)They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^(AM)I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)
Jeremiah 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins

Jeremiah 1

The Message

Demolish, and Then Start Over

1 ^1-4The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:

⁵“Before I shaped you in the womb,
    I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
    I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
    that’s what I had in mind for you.”

⁶But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

^7-8God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
    I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
    Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
    God’s Decree.

^9-10God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
    “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do
    among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
    take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
    building and planting.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece

^11-12God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”
And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.
I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

^13-15God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”
    I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”
Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north
    on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”
    God’s Decree.

^15-16“They’ll come and set up headquarters
    facing Jerusalem’s gates,
Facing all the city walls,
    facing all the villages of Judah.
I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
    for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
    worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

¹⁷“But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don’t pull your punches
or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

^18-19“Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
    I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
    solid as a concrete block wall.
You’re a one-man defense system
    against this culture,
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
    against the priests and local leaders.
They’ll fight you, but they won’t
    even scratch you.
I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
    God’s Decree.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Message (MSG)

Jeremiah 1 English Standard Version