Jeremiah 1
EasyEnglish Bible
God speaks to Jeremiah
1 This book tells about Hilkiah's son, Jeremiah, and the words that he spoke. Jeremiah was a priest. He lived at Anathoth, a town in the land that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. 2 The Lord first spoke to him when Amon's son Josiah had been king of Judah for 13 years.[a] 3 The Lord also spoke to him while Josiah's son, Jehoiakim, ruled Judah as king. He continued to speak to Jeremiah until Josiah's son Zedekiah had ruled Judah for 11 years. In the fifth month of that year, Judah's enemies took the people of Jerusalem away as their prisoners.
God chooses Jeremiah to be a prophet
4 The Lord gave me this message: 5 ‘I already knew you before I made you inside your mother's body. I chose you to be special before you were born. I chose you to be my prophet, to speak my message to other nations.’
6 I answered, ‘Lord God, I do not know how to speak. I am only a child.’
7 The Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone that I send you to. You must say whatever I tell you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of them. Remember that I will be with you. I will keep you safe.’
9 Then the Lord touched my mouth with his hand. He said to me, ‘I am giving you the words that you must speak. 10 Look! I give you authority to tell nations and kingdoms what will happen to them. You will pull some of them out of the ground, like a plant and its roots. You will knock down and destroy some of them. You will bring an end to their power. But you will build up other nations and make them strong.’
The Lord shows Jeremiah two visions
11 The Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
I replied, ‘I see the branch of an almond tree.’
12 The Lord said, ‘Yes, that is correct. I am watching carefully to make sure that what I say will happen really happens.’[b]
13 The Lord asked me again. ‘What do you see?’
I replied, ‘I see in the north a pot with boiling water in it. It will pour its water in this direction.’
The Lord said, 14 ‘Yes, trouble like boiling water will come from the north. It will destroy all the people who live in this land. 15 I will call all the nations that are in the north to come here. Their kings will come and they will sit on their thrones at the city gates of Jerusalem. Their armies will be all around the walls of Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah. 16 I will punish my people for the wicked things that they have done. They have turned away from me. They have offered sacrifices to false gods. They have worshipped idols that they have made with their own hands.
17 You must be ready to move, Jeremiah! Go and say to the people whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of them. If you are afraid of them now, when you are among them, I will cause you to be very frightened! 18 I, the Lord, promise that I will make you as strong as a city with strong walls around it. You will be as strong as an iron pillar, or a wall that is made of bronze. You will speak a message against the whole nation of Judah. You will speak against its kings, its officers, its priests and all its people. 19 They will attack you. But they will not win against you, because I will be with you. I will keep you safe.
That is what the Lord says.’
Footnotes
- 1:2 When we write Lord like this, it is a special name for God. Sometimes people write it as ‘Yahweh’, or as ‘Jehovah’. It is his own name that he told Moses. See Exodus 3:14. It means ‘I am who I am’. This shows that God has always been there and he always will be there.
- 1:12 The Hebrew words for ‘almond’ and ‘watching’ sound nearly the same. The almond tree is the first tree to have flowers, in the spring. God was telling Jeremiah what would happen. All the things that he had said would soon happen.
Jeremiah 1
New King James Version
Jeremiah Called to Be a Priest
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were (A)in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of (B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, (C)in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of (D)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, (E)until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, (F)until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive (G)in the fifth month.
The Prophet Is Called
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I (H)formed you in the womb (I)I knew you;
Before you were born I (J)sanctified[a] you;
I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
(K)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And (L)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 (M)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For (N)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and (O)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have (P)put My words in your mouth.
10 (Q)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To (R)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a [c]branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [d]ready to perform My word.”
13 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”
And I said, “I see (S)a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”
14 Then the Lord said to me:
“Out of the (T)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For behold, I am (U)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and (V)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because (W)they have forsaken Me,
Burned (X)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own (Y)hands.
17 “Therefore (Z)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
(AA)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
18 For behold, I have made you this day
(AB)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 set you apart
- Jeremiah 1:5 appointed
- Jeremiah 1:11 Lit. rod
- Jeremiah 1:12 Lit. watching
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
