Jeremiah 1

The Message

Demolish, and Then Start Over

1 ^1-4The Message of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah of the family of priests who lived in Anathoth in the country of Benjamin. God’s Message began to come to him during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon reigned over Judah. It continued to come to him during the time Jehoiakim son of Josiah reigned over Judah. And it continued to come to him clear down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah over Judah, the year that Jerusalem was taken into exile. This is what God said:

⁵“Before I shaped you in the womb,
    I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
    I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
    that’s what I had in mind for you.”

⁶But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

^7-8God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
    I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
    Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
    God’s Decree.

^9-10God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,
    “Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!
See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to do
    among nations and governments—a red-letter day!
Your job is to pull up and tear down,
    take apart and demolish,
And then start over,
    building and planting.”

Stand Up and Say Your Piece

^11-12God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”
And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.
I’ll make every word I give you come true.”

^13-15God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”
    I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”
Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the north
    on everyone living in this land.
Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”
    God’s Decree.

^15-16“They’ll come and set up headquarters
    facing Jerusalem’s gates,
Facing all the city walls,
    facing all the villages of Judah.
I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judah
    for walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—
And courting other gods with their offerings,
    worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.

¹⁷“But you—up on your feet and get dressed for work!
Stand up and say your piece. Say exactly what I tell you to say.
Don’t pull your punches
or I’ll pull you out of the lineup.

^18-19“Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work.
    I’m making you as impregnable as a castle,
Immovable as a steel post,
    solid as a concrete block wall.
You’re a one-man defense system
    against this culture,
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
    against the priests and local leaders.
They’ll fight you, but they won’t
    even scratch you.
I’ll back you up every inch of the way.”
    God’s Decree.

Jeremiah 1

The Voice

1 ^1-2This is an account of the words and deeds of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who lived in the village of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The word of the Eternal came to him in a series of messages that started coming to the prophet in the 13th year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. ³These disturbing and awesome messages continued throughout the reign of Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, king of Judah, until Jerusalem was captured in the 5th month of the 11th year of Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons, who was also king of Judah.

⁴And now the fateful day when the Eternal One first spoke to me:

⁵Eternal One: Before I even formed you in your mother’s womb,
        I knew all about you.
    Before you drew your first breath, I had already chosen you
        to be My prophet to speak My word to the nations.

⁶Jeremiah: Ah, Eternal Lord!
I’m too young and inexperienced to speak for You.

⁷Eternal One: Don’t use your youth as an excuse;
        you can and will go wherever I send you.
        You can and will say whatever I tell you to say.
⁸    You have no reason to fear the people you speak to,
        for I am with you and will defend you.

⁹Then the Eternal reached out and touched my mouth, and He gave me His divine message.

Eternal One: Look, I have placed My words in you.
        You will know what to say now, for you will be My voice.
¹⁰    This very day I appointed you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms.
        Your word—My word—will have the power to uproot and stamp out;
        it will destroy and upend.
    And then your word—My word—will rebuild and plant anew.

Nations and empires will now hear Jeremiah’s voice as God’s in these days of painful change. To confirm that Jeremiah has indeed been called to speak for God, two simple visions are given to him, each with an explanation. Both speak of coming judgment and remind the young prophet of his difficult assignment.

¹¹The word of the Eternal came to me.

Eternal One: What do you see, Jeremiah?

Jeremiah: I see the branch of an almond tree.

Eternal One: ¹²That’s right. From this know that I am watching over My word until it is accomplished.

Words are the tools of a prophet. The word of God comes asking the prophet what he sees. He responds that he sees something rather ordinary: an almond tree. God uses this ordinary sight to give him an extraordinary message. There is a play on words here between the Hebrew words for “almond” and “watching,” which sound alike in that language. Jeremiah sees an almond, which is shaped like a person’s eye, and God says He is watching. This playful and clever use of words gets Jeremiah’s attention; it stirs his prophetic imagination so that he will similarly use poetry, wordplay, and object lessons to get the attention of his listeners. Just as the almond tree is usually the first sign of spring, soon the first signs of God’s approaching judgment will appear.

¹³Then the word of the Eternal came to me a second time.

Eternal One: What do you see this time?

Jeremiah: I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north, ready to spill out toward the south.

Eternal One: ¹⁴That is because an evil out of the north will indeed begin spilling onto the people of this land. ¹⁵Watch now, as I summon the clans and kingdoms of the north to march against Judah, rule with power at the very gates of Jerusalem, press in on every side, and vanquish all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶I will declare My sentence for their wicked crimes. My own people have abandoned Me, burning incense to other gods and bowing down to handmade idols.

¹⁷Now stand with courage, and tell the people exactly what I command. Don’t break down in front of them, or I will break you Myself. ¹⁸Remember, Jeremiah, this very day I have made you as a fortress, a column as strong as iron, a wall of bronze able to withstand the attacks of the entire nation of Judah—from her kings and leaders to the priests and people. ¹⁹Eventually, they will all give you trouble, but you will be safe. They will fight you, but they will not win. Remember, I am with you. I promise I will always deliver you.

Jeremías 1

Nueva Versión Internacional

1 Estas son las palabras de Jeremías, hijo de Jilquías. Jeremías provenía de una familia sacerdotal de Anatot, ciudad del territorio de Benjamín. ²La palabra del Señor vino a Jeremías en el año trece del reinado de Josías, hijo de Amón y rey de Judá. ³También vino a él durante el reinado de Joacim, hijo de Josías y rey de Judá, hasta el fin del reinado de Sedequías, hijo de Josías y rey de Judá; es decir, hasta el quinto mes del año undécimo de su reinado, cuando la población de Jerusalén fue deportada.

Llamamiento de Jeremías

⁴La palabra del Señor vino a mí y me dijo:

⁵«Antes de formarte en el vientre, ya te había elegido;
antes de que nacieras, ya te había apartado;
te había nombrado profeta para las naciones».

⁶Yo respondí:

«¡Ah, mi Señor y Dios! ¡Soy muy joven y no sé hablar!».

⁷Pero el Señor me dijo:

«No digas: “Soy muy joven”, porque vas a ir adondequiera que yo te envíe y vas a decir todo lo que yo te ordene. ⁸No tengas temor delante de ellos que yo estoy contigo para librarte», afirma el Señor.

⁹Luego extendió el Señor la mano y, tocándome la boca, me dijo:

«He puesto en tu boca mis palabras. ¹⁰Mira, hoy te doy autoridad sobre naciones y reinos, para arrancar y derribar, para destruir y demoler, para construir y plantar».

¹¹La palabra del Señor vino a mí y me dijo:

«¿Qué es lo que ves, Jeremías?».

«Veo una rama de almendro», respondí.

¹²«Has visto bien —dijo el Señor— porque yo estoy vigilando^[a] para que se cumpla mi palabra».

¹³La palabra del Señor vino a mí por segunda vez y me dijo:

«¿Qué es lo que ves?».

«Veo una olla que hierve y se derrama desde el norte», respondí.

¹⁴Entonces el Señor me dijo:

«Desde el norte se derramará la calamidad sobre todos los habitantes de esta tierra. ¹⁵Yo estoy por convocar a todas las tribus de los reinos del norte», afirma el Señor.

«Vendrán y cada uno pondrá su trono
    a la entrada misma de Jerusalén;
vendrán contra todos los muros que la rodean
    y contra todas las ciudades de Judá.
¹⁶Yo dictaré sentencia contra mi pueblo
    por toda su maldad,
    porque me ha abandonado;
ha quemado incienso a otros dioses
    y ha adorado las obras de sus manos.

¹⁷»Pero tú, ¡prepárate! Ve y diles todo lo que yo te ordene. No estés aterrorizado ante ellos, pues de lo contrario te aterrorizaré ante ellos. ¹⁸Hoy te he puesto como ciudad fortificada, como columna de hierro y muro de bronce contra todo el país, contra los reyes de Judá, contra sus oficiales y sus sacerdotes y contra el pueblo de la tierra. ¹⁹Pelearán contra ti, pero no podrán vencerte porque yo estoy contigo para librarte», afirma el Señor.

Footnotes

1:11-12 En hebreo, las palabras que corresponden a almendro y yo estoy vigilando tienen un sonido parecido.

The Message (MSG)

The Voice (VOICE)

Nueva Versión Internacional (NVI)

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Jeremiah 1 The Message