Jeremiah 1
New Living Translation
1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.[a] 3 The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August[b] of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.
Jeremiah’s Call and First Visions
4 The Lord gave me this message:
5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 9 Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
10 Today I appoint you to stand up
against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
and plant.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching,[c] and I will certainly carry out all my plans.”
13 Then the Lord spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?”
And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.”
14 “Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land. 15 Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken!
“They will set their thrones
at the gates of the city.
They will attack its walls
and all the other towns of Judah.
16 I will pronounce judgment
on my people for all their evil—
for deserting me and burning incense to other gods.
Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!
17 “Get up and prepare for action.
Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say.
Do not be afraid of them,
or I will make you look foolish in front of them.
18 For see, today I have made you strong
like a fortified city that cannot be captured,
like an iron pillar or a bronze wall.
You will stand against the whole land—
the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah.
19 They will fight you, but they will fail.
For I am with you, and I will take care of you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 1:2 The thirteenth year of Josiah’s reign was 627 B.c.
- 1:3 Hebrew In the fifth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of events in Jeremiah can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar. The fifth month in the eleventh year of Zedekiah’s reign occurred within the months of August and September 586 B.c. Also see 52:12 and the note there.
- 1:12 The Hebrew word for “watching” (shoqed) sounds like the word for “almond tree” (shaqed).
Jeremiah 1
International Standard Version
Introduction
1 The words of Hilkiah’s son Jeremiah,[a] who was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 This message from the Lord came to him during the thirteenth year of the reign of[b] Ammon’s son Josiah, the king of Judah, 3 and during the reign of[c] Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at[d] the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.
Jeremiah’s Call as a Prophet
4 This message from the Lord came to me:
5 “I knew you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart for me before you were born;
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 I replied, “Ah, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak, because I’m only[e] a young man.”
7 Then the Lord told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only[f] a young man,’ for you will go everywhere I send you, and you will speak everything I command you. 8 Don’t be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 The Lord stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, “Look, I’ve put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I’ve appointed you to prophesy about nations and kingdoms, to pull up and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
The Visions of the Almond Branch and Boiling Pot
11 This message from the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I replied, “I see an almond branch.”
12 The Lord told me, “You have observed well, because I’m watching over[g] my message, to make sure it comes about.”
13 This message from the Lord came to me a second time: “What do you see?”
I replied, “I see a boiling pot, and its mouth is tilted away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord told me, “From the north disaster will pour out on all who live in the land, 15 because I’m about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north,” declares the Lord.
“They’ll come and each one will set up his seat[h]
at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
against all of its surrounding walls,
and against all of the towns of Judah.
16 “I’ll pronounce my judgments against them
because of all their wickedness.
They have forsaken me,
they have burned incense to other gods,
and they have bowed down in worship
to the works of their own[i] hands.”[j]
The Lord’s Assurance to Jeremiah
17 “As for you, get ready![k] Stand up and tell them everything that I’ve commanded you. Don’t be frightened as you face them, or I’ll frighten you right in front of them.
18 “As for me, today I’m making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. 19 They’ll fight against you, but they won’t prevail against you, because I am with you,” declares the Lord, “to deliver you.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:1 The Heb. name Jeremiah means God has appointed me
- Jeremiah 1:2 Lit. him in the days of
- Jeremiah 1:3 Lit. and in the days of
- Jeremiah 1:3 Lit. until
- Jeremiah 1:6 The Heb. lacks only
- Jeremiah 1:7 The Heb. lacks only
- Jeremiah 1:12 The Heb. word almond (shaqed) sounds like the Heb. word watching (shoqed)
- Jeremiah 1:15 Or throne
- Jeremiah 1:16 The Heb. lacks own
- Jeremiah 1:16 I.e. idols
- Jeremiah 1:17 Lit. gird up your loins
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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