Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Then I said, “Oh, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.”

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to tear down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.”

The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”

And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land.

And I will pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have abandoned Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Now, belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them.

And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

Judah’s Apostasy

Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I remember regarding you the devotion of your youth, Your love when you were a bride, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown.

This is what the Lord says: “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me, And walked after emptiness and became empty?

They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no person lived?’

The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who handle the Law did not know Me; The rulers also revolted against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that were of no benefit.

“Therefore I will still contend with you,” declares the Lord, “And I will contend with your sons’ sons.

For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely, And see if there has been anything like this!

Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.

“Is Israel a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home? Why has he become plunder?