1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
2 to whom the word of LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying away captive of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of LORD came to me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee. I have appointed thee a prophet to the nations.
6 Then I said, Ah, lord LORD! Behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.
7 But LORD said to me, Say not, I am a child. For to whomever I shall send thee thou shall go, and whatever I shall command thee thou shall speak.
8 Be not afraid because of them, for I am with thee to deliver thee, says LORD.
9 Then LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
11 Moreover the word of LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do thou see? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
12 Then LORD said to me, Thou have well seen. For I watch over my word to perform it.
13 And the word of LORD came to me the second time, saying, What do thou see? And I said, I see a boiling caldron, and the face of it is from the north.
14 Then LORD said to me, Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says LORD. And they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls of it round about, and
16 And I will utter my judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the rulers of it, against the priests of it, and against the people of the l
19 And they shall fight against thee. But they shall not prevail against thee, for I am with thee, says LORD, to deliver thee.