Jeremiah 1
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, 2 to 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. 3 It 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.
4 Now 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.”
6 Then (K)I said, “Oh, Lord [a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because (L)I am a youth.”
7 But 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.
9 Then 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.
10 See, (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.”
The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, (V)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 (W)I am [c]watching over My word to perform it.”
13 And the word of the Lord 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 the Lord said to me, “(Z)Out of the north the evil [d]will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling (AA)all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and (AB)place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the (AC)cities of Judah. 16 And I will [e]pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have (AD)abandoned Me and have [f](AE)offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the (AF)works of their own hands. 17 Now, (AG)belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. (AH)Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, 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 save you,” declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 1:11 Heb shaqed, see note v 12
- Jeremiah 1:12 Heb shoqed, a wordplay on almond in v 11 (see note v 11)
- Jeremiah 1:14 Lit opened
- Jeremiah 1:16 Lit speak
- Jeremiah 1:16 Or burned incense
Jeremiah 1
Holman 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 deliver 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 My word to accomplish it.”(S) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, “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[a] 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.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:14 LXX reads will boil
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.