 1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Word of the Lord came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of King Amon of Judah in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It also came in the days of Jehoiakim the son of King Josiah of Judah to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of King Josiah of Judah to the exiling of Jerusalem in the fifth month. 4 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb I consecrated you and ordained you a prophet to the nations. 6 Then I said, Lord God, behold. I cannot speak. For I am a child. 7 But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a child. For you shall go to all that I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces. For I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. 9 The Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 Behold. I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant. 11 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 The Lord said to me, You have seen well. For I will watch over my Word to perform it. 13 The Word of the Lord came to me the second time saying, What do you see? I said, I see a boiling pot and its face is toward the north. 14 The Lord said to me, Out of the north an evil will be set loose on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord. They will come and each one will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against its wall all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will pronounce+ my judgments against them regarding all their wickedness: Those who have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 Arise and get dressed+ and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them lest I confound+ you before them. 18 For, behold, I have made you a fortified city this day, an iron pillar and bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its rulers, its priests, and against the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you. For I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
|