Jeremiah 1

New International Version

1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth^(A) in the territory of Benjamin. ²The word of the Lord came^(B) to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah^(C) son of Amon king of Judah, ³and through the reign of Jehoiakim^(D) son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah^(E) son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.^(F)

The Call of Jeremiah

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

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb^(G) I knew^[a]^(H) you,
before you were born^(I) I set you apart;^(J)
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.^(K)”

⁶“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;^(L) I am too young.”^(M)

⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸Do not be afraid^(N) of them, for I am with you^(O) and will rescue^(P) you,” declares the Lord.^(Q)

⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched^(R) my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.^(S) ¹⁰See, today I appoint you over nations^(T) and kingdoms to uproot^(U) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”^(V)

¹¹The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”^(W)

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

¹²The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching^[b]^(X) to see that my word is fulfilled.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”^(Y)

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

¹⁴The Lord said to me, “From the north^(Z) disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
    in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
    and against all the towns of Judah.^(AA)
¹⁶I will pronounce my judgments^(AB) on my people
    because of their wickedness^(AC) in forsaking me,^(AD)
in burning incense to other gods^(AE)
    and in worshiping^(AF) what their hands have made.^(AG)

¹⁷“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say^(AH) to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified^(AI) by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸Today I have made you^(AJ) a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹They will fight against you but will not overcome^(AK) you, for I am with you^(AL) and will rescue^(AM) you,” declares the Lord.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.

Jeremiah 29

New International Version

A Letter to the Exiles

29 This is the text of the letter^(A) that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.^(B) ²(This was after King Jehoiachin^[a]^(C) and the queen mother,^(D) the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.) ³He entrusted the letter to Elasah son of Shaphan and to Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:

⁴This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried^(E) into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵“Build^(F) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.^(G) ⁷Also, seek^(H) the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray^(I) to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” ⁸Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets^(J) and diviners among you deceive^(K) you. Do not listen to the dreams^(L) you encourage them to have.^(M) ⁹They are prophesying lies^(N) to you in my name. I have not sent^(O) them,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years^(P) are completed for Babylon, I will come to you^(Q) and fulfill my good promise^(R) to bring you back^(S) to this place. ¹¹For I know the plans^(T) I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper^(U) you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.^(V) ¹²Then you will call^(W) on me and come and pray^(X) to me, and I will listen^(Y) to you. ¹³You will seek^(Z) me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.^(AA) ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back^(AB) from captivity.^[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”^(AC)

¹⁵You may say, “The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,” ¹⁶but this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your fellow citizens who did not go with you into exile— ¹⁷yes, this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will send the sword, famine and plague^(AD) against them and I will make them like figs^(AE) that are so bad they cannot be eaten. ¹⁸I will pursue them with the sword, famine and plague and will make them abhorrent^(AF) to all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse^[c]^(AG) and an object of horror,^(AH) of scorn^(AI) and reproach, among all the nations where I drive them. ¹⁹For they have not listened to my words,”^(AJ) declares the Lord, “words that I sent to them again and again^(AK) by my servants the prophets.^(AL) And you exiles have not listened either,” declares the Lord.

²⁰Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I have sent^(AM) away from Jerusalem to Babylon. ²¹This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies^(AN) to you in my name: “I will deliver them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes. ²²Because of them, all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned^(AO) in the fire.’ ²³For they have done outrageous things in Israel; they have committed adultery^(AP) with their neighbors’ wives, and in my name they have uttered lies—which I did not authorize. I know^(AQ) it and am a witness^(AR) to it,” declares the Lord.

Message to Shemaiah

²⁴Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite, ²⁵“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah^(AS) son of Maaseiah, and to all the other priests. You said to Zephaniah, ²⁶‘The Lord has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the Lord; you should put any maniac^(AT) who acts like a prophet into the stocks^(AU) and neck-irons. ²⁷So why have you not reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you? ²⁸He has sent this message^(AV) to us in Babylon: It will be a long time.^(AW) Therefore build^(AX) houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.’”

²⁹Zephaniah^(AY) the priest, however, read the letter to Jeremiah the prophet. ³⁰Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ³¹“Send this message to all the exiles: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah^(AZ) the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send^(BA) him, and has persuaded you to trust in lies, ³²this is what the Lord says: I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants.^(BB) He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good^(BC) things I will do for my people, declares the Lord, because he has preached rebellion^(BD) against me.’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 29:2 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
Jeremiah 29:14 Or will restore your fortunes
Jeremiah 29:18 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see verse 22); or, others will see that they are cursed.