Jeremiah 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Sends Jeremiah the Prophet
1 The words of (A)Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in (B)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of [a]Yahweh came in the days of (C)Josiah the son of (D)Amon, king of Judah, in the (E)thirteenth year of his reign. 3 And it came 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.
4 Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying,
5 “Before I (H)formed you in the [b]innermost parts I knew you,
And (I)before you came out from the womb I set you apart;
I have (J)given you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then (K)I said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh!
Behold, I do not know how to speak
Because (L)I am a youth.”
7 But Yahweh 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 deliver you,” declares Yahweh.
9 Then Yahweh sent forth His hand and (Q)touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,
“Behold, I have (R)put My words in your mouth.
10 See, (S)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
(T)To uproot and to tear down,
To cause to perish and to pull down,
(U)To build and to plant.”
The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot
11 Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “What do you see, (V)Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an [c]almond tree.” 12 Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well, for (W)I am [d]watching over My word to do it.”
13 The word of Yahweh came to me a second time saying, “(X)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling (Y)pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then Yahweh said to me, “(Z)From the north the evil [e]will break open on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling (AA)all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh; “and they will come, and each one of them will (AB)put his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the (AC)cities of Judah. 16 I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have (AD)forsaken Me and have (AE)burned incense to other gods and worshiped the (AF)works of their own hands. 17 Now, (AG)gird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which I command you. (AH)Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have given you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests, and to the people of the land. 19 And they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for (AI)I am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Jeremiah 1:5 Lit stomach
- Jeremiah 1:11 Heb shaqed
- Jeremiah 1:12 Heb shoqed
- Jeremiah 1:14 Lit will be opened
Jeremiah 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, who was one of the priests from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, 3 and continued through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the time of the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me.
5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew[a] you,
and before you were born, I set you apart.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.
6 But I said, “Ah, Lord God! I really do not know how to speak! I am only a child!”
7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, because I am with you, and I will rescue you, declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me:
There! I have now placed my words in your mouth.
10 Look, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.
Jeremiah’s First Visions
11 Again the word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “That is correct. You have observed accurately. And this vision means that I am watching[b] over my word to fulfill it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time: “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a boiling pot tipped away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me:
Disaster will boil over from the north on everyone who lives in the land.
15 Listen, I am summoning all the clans from the northern kingdoms, declares the Lord. They will come, and each one will set up his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will come against all the surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will pronounce my judgments against Judah because of their wickedness. They have abandoned me. They have made burnt offerings to other gods, and they have bowed down to the work of their own hands.
17 Now you, get ready.[c] Rise up and tell them everything I am commanding you. Do not be frightened by them, or I will frighten you in their presence.
18 Look, today I have made you like a fortified city, like an iron pillar, and like bronze walls, to take a stand against the whole land. Stand against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, because I am with you to rescue you, declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
- Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew word shokēd, watching, sounds like the Hebrew word shakēd, almond tree.
- Jeremiah 1:17 Literally gird your loins, that is, hike up your robes
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.