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 5

New International Version

Not One Is Upright

5 “Go up and down^(A) the streets of Jerusalem,
    look around and consider,^(B)
    search through her squares.
If you can find but one person^(C)
    who deals honestly^(D) and seeks the truth,
    I will forgive^(E) this city.
²Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^(F)
    still they are swearing falsely.^(G)”

³Lord, do not your eyes^(H) look for truth?
    You struck^(I) them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.^(J)
They made their faces harder than stone^(K)
    and refused to repent.^(L)
⁴I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,^(M)
for they do not know^(N) the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
⁵So I will go to the leaders^(O)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.^(P)
⁶Therefore a lion from the forest^(Q) will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage^(R) them,
a leopard^(S) will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.^(T)

⁷“Why should I forgive you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and sworn^(U) by gods that are not gods.^(V)
I supplied all their needs,
    yet they committed adultery^(W)
    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.^(X)
⁸They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for another man’s wife.^(Y)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”^(Z)
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(AA) myself
    on such a nation as this?

¹⁰“Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
    but do not destroy them completely.^(AB)
Strip off her branches,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
¹¹The people of Israel and the people of Judah
    have been utterly unfaithful^(AC) to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹²They have lied^(AD) about the Lord;
    they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;^(AE)
    we will never see sword or famine.^(AF)
¹³The prophets^(AG) are but wind^(AH)
    and the word is not in them;
    so let what they say be done to them.”

¹⁴Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth^(AI) a fire^(AJ)
    and these people the wood it consumes.^(AK)
¹⁵People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation^(AL) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language^(AM) you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶Their quivers^(AN) are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷They will devour^(AO) your harvests and food,
    devour^(AP) your sons and daughters;
they will devour^(AQ) your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.^(AR)
With the sword^(AS) they will destroy
    the fortified cities^(AT) in which you trust.^(AU)

¹⁸“Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy^(AV) you completely. ¹⁹And when the people ask,^(AW) ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods^(AX) in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners^(AY) in a land not your own.’

²⁰“Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim^(AZ) it in Judah:
²¹Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,^(BA)
    who have eyes^(BB) but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:^(BC)
²²Should you not fear^(BD) me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble^(BE) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,^(BF)
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar,^(BG) but they cannot cross it.
²³But these people have stubborn and rebellious^(BH) hearts;
    they have turned aside^(BI) and gone away.
²⁴They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear^(BJ) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains^(BK) in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’^(BL)
²⁵Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.^(BM)

²⁶“Among my people are the wicked^(BN)
    who lie in wait^(BO) like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps^(BP) to catch people.
²⁷Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;^(BQ)
they have become rich^(BR) and powerful
²⁸    and have grown fat^(BS) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;^(BT)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.^(BU)
²⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(BV) myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰“A horrible^(BW) and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹The prophets prophesy lies,^(BX)
    the priests^(BY) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?^(BZ)