Jer 1 | NASB2020 | STEP | The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah , of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin ,

Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1 The words of ^aJeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in ^bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^cJosiah the son of ^dAmon, king of Judah, in the ^ethirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of ^fJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of ^gZedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5 “Before I ^hformed you in the womb I knew you,
And ⁱbefore you were born I consecrated you;
I have ^jappointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then ^kI said, “Oh, Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because ^mI am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
ⁿBecause everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And ^oall that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “ ^pDo not be afraid of them,
For ^qI am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and ^rtouched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have ^sput My words in your mouth.
10 “See, ^tI have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
^uTo root out and to tear down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
^vTo build and to plant.”

The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot

11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “What do you see, ^wJeremiah?” And I said, “I see a branch of an ^{▼▼Heb shaqed, see note v 12}almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for ^yI am ^{▼▼Heb shoqed, a wordplay on almond in v 11 (see note v 11)}watching over My word to perform it.”

13 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “ ^aaWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling ^abpot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “ ^acOut of the north the evil ^{▼▼Lit opened}will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling ^aeall the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and ^afplace, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the ^agcities of Judah. 16 And I will ^{▼▼Lit speak}pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have ^aiabandoned Me and have ^{▼▼Or burned incense
,} ^akoffered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the ^alworks of their own hands. 17 Now, ^ambelt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. ^anDo not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land. 19 And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for ^aoI am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.