1 These are the words of Yirmeyahu the son of Hilkiyahu, one of the cohanim living in ‘Anatot, in the territory of Binyamin. ² The word of Adonai came to him during the days of Yoshiyahu the son of Amon, king of Y’hudah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³ It also came during the days of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, continuing until the eleventh year of Tzidkiyahu the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, right up until the time Yerushalayim was carried away captive, in the fifth month.

⁴ Here is the word of Adonai that came to me:

⁶ I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim, I don’t even know how to speak! I’m just a child!” ⁷ But Adonai said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m just a child.’

⁹ Then Adonai put out his hand and touched my mouth, and Adonai said to me,

¹¹ The word of Adonai came to me, asking, “Yirmeyahu, what do you see?” I answered, “I see a branch from an almond tree ^[a]. ¹² Then Adonai said to me, “You have seen well, because I am watching ^[b] to fulfill my word.”

¹³ A second time the word of Adonai came to me, asking, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a caldron tilted away from the north, over a fire fanned by the wind.” ¹⁴ Then Adonai said to me, “From the north calamity will boil over onto everyone living in the land, ¹⁵ because I will summon all the families in the kingdoms of the north,” says Adonai,