Jer 1, Jer 12 | ESV | STEP | The words of Jeremiah , the son of Hilkiah , one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin ,

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^aof 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 Amon, king of Judah, in ^dthe thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of ^eJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^funtil the end of the eleventh year of ^gZedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^huntil the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

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

5 ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^lI do not know how to speak, ^mfor I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ⁿwhatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 ^oDo not be afraid of them,
^pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”
9 ^qThen the Lord put out his hand and ^rtouched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^smy words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day ^tover nations and over kingdoms,
^uto pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^v“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond ^{▼▼ Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)} branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^xa boiling pot, facing away ^yfrom the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, ^z“Out of the north disaster ^{▼▼The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah} shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, ^abI am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^acand they shall come, and every one shall 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 And ^adI will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^aein forsaking me. ^afThey have made offerings to other gods and ^agworshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, ^ahdress yourself for work; ^{▼▼Hebrew gird up your loins} arise, and ^ajsay to them everything that I command you. ^akDo not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day ^ala fortified city, ^aman iron pillar, and ^anbronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 ^aoThey will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^apI am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Jeremiah 12

Jeremiah’s Complaint

1 ^aqRighteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
^arWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all ^aswho are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
^atyou are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3 ^auBut you, O Lord, know me;
^avyou see me, and test my heart toward you.
^awPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for ^axthe day of slaughter.
4 ^ayHow long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
^azFor the evil of those who dwell in it
^bathe beasts and the birds are swept away,
because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in ^bbthe thicket of the Jordan?
6 For ^bceven your brothers and the house of your father,
^bdeven they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
^bedo not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
7 “I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned ^bfmy heritage;
I have given ^bgthe beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8 ^bhMy heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Is ^bimy heritage to me like ^bja hyena’s lair?
Are the ^bkbirds of prey against her all around?
Go, ^blassemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
^bmthey have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, ^bnit mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
^bobut no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13 ^bpThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
^bqthey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their ^{▼▼Hebrew your} harvests
^bsbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all ^btmy evil neighbors ^buwho touch the heritage that ^bvI have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, ^bwand I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ^bxto swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, ^bythen they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 ^bzBut if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”