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 Jehovah came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

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

Now the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; And before you came forth from the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.

Then I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! Indeed, I do not know how to speak, For I am a youth.

But Jehovah said to me, Do not say, I am a youth; For everywhere I send you, you shall go; And everything I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you, declares Jehovah.

Then Jehovah stretched out His hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said to me, Now I have put My words in your mouth.

See, I have appointed you this day Over the nations and over the kingdoms To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to tear down, To build up and to plant.

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

And Jehovah said to me, You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.

Then the word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.

And Jehovah said to me, Out of the north evil will be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.

For I am now calling all the families from the kingdoms of the north, declares Jehovah, and they will come and set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.

And I will utter My judgment on them concerning all their wickedness by which they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods and have worshipped the works of their own hands.

You therefore gird up your loins, and rise up and speak to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you in their presence.

And I am now making you today into a fortified city and into an iron pillar and into bronze walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

And they will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you, declares Jehovah, to deliver you.