1The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who lived in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2The word of the LORD came to him in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, and on until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the people of Jerusalem were carried away as captives in the fifth month.
4Then the word of the LORD came to me. It said:
5"Before I formed you in the belly I knew you. Before you came out of the womb I set you apart, and I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations."
6Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD, look, I cannot speak, for I am a child."
7But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to, and you must speak whatever I command you."
8"Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to rescue you, says the LORD."
9Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Look, I have put my words in your mouth."
10"See, today I have set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pull up and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant."
11The word of the LORD came to me again. It said, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."
12Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I will hurry to carry out my word."
13The word of the LORD came to me a second time. It said, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, and its face is turned toward the north."
14Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north an evil will break out on all the people who live in the land."
15"For look, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD. They will come, and each one will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah."
16"And I will speak my judgments against them for all their wickedness. They have left me, and have burned incense to other gods, and have worshipped the works of their own hands."
17"So get yourself ready, and stand up, and speak to them everything I command you. Do not be frightened by their faces, or I will break you down in front of them."
18"For look, today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and walls of bronze 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 will not win against you, for I am with you to rescue you, says the LORD."