Jer 1, Jer 20 | 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 20

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

1 Now ^aqPashhur the priest, the son of ^arImmer, who was ^aschief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then ^atPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him ^auin the stocks that were in the upper ^avBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3 The next day, when ^awPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name ^axPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you ^aya terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5 Moreover, ^azI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its ^baprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, ^bbPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, ^bcto whom you have prophesied falsely.”

7 O Lord, ^bdyou have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
^beyou are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
^bfI have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, ^bg“Violence and destruction!”
For ^bhthe word of the Lord has become for me
^bia reproach and ^bjderision all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
^bkthere is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and ^blI am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 ^bmFor I hear many whispering.
^bnTerror is on every side!
“Denounce him! ^boLet us denounce him!”
say all my ^bpclose friends,
^bqwatching for ^brmy fall.
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then ^bswe can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”
11 But ^btthe Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
^buthey will not overcome me.
^bvThey will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their ^bweternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12 O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
^bxwho sees the heart and the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
13 ^bzSing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.
14 ^caCursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
^cbmaking him very glad.
16 Let that man be like ^ccthe cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
^cdlet him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
17 ^cebecause he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb forever great.
18 ^cfWhy did I come out from the womb
^cgto see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?