Jeremiah 1
1
God chooses Jeremiah to speak for him
1My name is Jeremiah. I am a priest, and my father Hilkiah and everyone else in my family are from Anathoth in the territory of the Benjamin tribe. This book contains the things that the LORD told me to say. 2The LORD first spoke to me in the thirteenth year that Josiah#1.2 Josiah: Ruled 640-609 BC. was king of Judah,#2 K 22.3—23.27; 2 Ch 34.8—35.19. 3and he continued to speak to me during the rule of Josiah's son Jehoiakim.#1.3 Jehoiakim: Ruled 609-598 BC. The last time the LORD spoke to me was in the fifth month#1.3 fifth month: Ab, the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-July to mid-August. of the eleventh year that Josiah's son Zedekiah#1.3 Zedekiah: Ruled 598-586 BC. was king. That was also when the people of Jerusalem were taken away as prisoners.#2 K 23.36—24.7; 2 Ch 36.5-8; 2 K 24.18—25.21; 2 Ch 36.11-21.
The LORD chooses Jeremiah
4The LORD said:
5“Jeremiah, I am your Creator,
and before you were born,
I chose you to speak for me
to the nations.”
6I replied, “I'm not a good speaker, LORD, and I'm too young.”
7“Don't say you're too young,” the LORD answered. “If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word! 8I promise to be with you and keep you safe, so don't be afraid.”
9The LORD reached out his hand, then he touched my mouth and said, “I am giving you the words to say, 10and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me. You will tell them of doom and destruction, and of rising and rebuilding again.”
11The LORD showed me something in a vision. Then he asked, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “A branch of almonds that ripen early.”
12“That's right,” the LORD replied, “and I always rise early#1.11,12 almonds…rise early: In Hebrew “almonds that ripen early” sounds like “always rise early”. to keep a promise.”
13Then the LORD showed me something else and asked, “What do you see now?”
I answered, “I see a pot of boiling water in the north, and it's about to spill out towards us.”
14The LORD said:
I will pour out destruction
all over the land.
15Just watch while I send
for the kings of the north.
They will attack and capture
Jerusalem and other towns,
then set up their thrones
at the gates of Jerusalem.
16I will punish my people,
because they are guilty
of turning from me
to worship idols.
17Jeremiah, get ready!
Go and tell the people
what I command you to say.
Don't be frightened by them,
or I will make you terrified
while they watch.
18My power will make you strong
like a fortress
or a column of iron
or a wall of bronze.
You will oppose all of Judah,
including its kings and leaders,
its priests and people.
19They will fight back,
but they won't win.
I, the LORD, give my word—
I won't let them harm you.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Yirmeyahu (Jer) 1
1
1These are the words of Yirmeyahu the son of Hilkiyahu, one of the cohanim living in ‘Anatot, in the territory of Binyamin. 2The 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. 3It 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.
4Here is the word of Adonai that came to me:
5“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you;
before you were born, I separated you for myself.
I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6I said, “Oh, Adonai Elohim, I don’t even know how to speak! I’m just a child!” 7But Adonai said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m just a child.’
“For you will go to whomever I send you,
and you will speak whatever I order you.
8Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you, says Adonai,
to rescue you.”
9Then Adonai put out his hand and touched my mouth, and Adonai said to me,
“There! I have put my words in your mouth.
10Today I have placed you over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to demolish,
to build and to plant.”
11The word of Adonai came to me, asking, “Yirmeyahu, what do you see?” I answered, “I see a branch from an almond tree . 12Then Adonai said to me, “You have seen well, because I am watching to fulfill my word.”
13A 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.” 14Then Adonai said to me, “From the north calamity will boil over onto everyone living in the land, 15because I will summon all the families in the kingdoms of the north,” says Adonai,
“and they will come and sit, each one, on his throne
at the entrance to the gates of Yerushalayim,
opposite its walls, all the way around,
and opposite all the cities of Y’hudah.
16I will pronounce my judgments against them
for all their wickedness in abandoning me,
offering incense to other gods
and worshipping what their own hands made.
17“But you, dress for action; stand up and tell them
everything I order you to say.
When you confront them, don’t break down;
or I will break you down in front of them!
18For today, you see, I have made you into
a fortified city, a pillar of iron,
a wall of bronze against the whole land —
against the kings of Y’hudah, against its princes,
against its cohanim and the people of the land.
19They will fight against you,
but they will not overcome you,
for I am with you,” says Adonai,
“to rescue you.”
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