Jeremiah 1:5-2:7

English Standard Version

⁵^(A)“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^(B)I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^(C)to the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^(D)I do not know how to speak, ^(E)for I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ^(F)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(G)Do not be afraid of them,
^(H)for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

⁹^(I)Then the Lord put out his hand and ^(J)touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^(K)my words in your mouth.
¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^(L)over nations and over kingdoms,
^(M)to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(N)“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond^[a] branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^(O)a boiling pot, facing away ^(P)from the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, ^(Q)“Out of the north disaster^[b] shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, ^(R)I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^(S)and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And ^(T)I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^(U)in forsaking me. ^(V)They have made offerings to other gods and ^(W)worshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ^(X)dress yourself for work;^[c] arise, and ^(Y)say to them everything that I command you. ^(Z)Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ^(AA)a fortified city, ^(AB)an iron pillar, and ^(AC)bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹^(AD)They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^(AE)I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Israel Forsakes the Lord

2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^(AF)your youth,
    your love ^(AG)as a bride,
^(AH)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    ^(AI)in a land not sown.
³^(AJ)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    ^(AK)the firstfruits of his harvest.
^(AL)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says the Lord:

^(AM)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(AN)and went after ^(AO)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶They did not say, ^(AP)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^(AQ)in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
⁷^(AR)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^(AS)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)
Jeremiah 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins