Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
The words of Jeremias the son of Helcias, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.
2 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his rule.
The word of the Lord which came to him in the days of Josias the son of Amon king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3 And it came again in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah; till Jerusalem was taken away in the fifth month.
And which came to him in the days of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, unto the end of the eleventh year of Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 Before you were formed in the body of your mother I had knowledge of you, and before your birth I made you holy; I have given you the work of being a prophet to the nations.
Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, O Lord God! see, I have no power of words, for I am a child.
And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.
7 But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a child: for wherever I send you, you are to go, and whatever I give you orders to say, you are to say.
And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak.
8 Have no fear because of them: for I am with you, to keep you safe, says the Lord.
Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put out his hand, touching my mouth; and the Lord said to me, See, I have put my words in your mouth:
And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:
10 See, this day I have put you over the nations and over the kingdoms, for uprooting and smashing down, for destruction and overturning, for building up and planting.
Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root up, and pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.
11 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond-tree.
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: What seest thou, Jeremias? And I said: I see a rod watching.
12 Then the Lord said to me, You have seen well: for I keep watch over my word to give effect to it.
And the Lord said to me: Thou hast seen well: for I will watch over my word to perform it.
13 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling pot, and its face is from the north.
And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying: What seest thou? I see a boiling caldron, and the face thereof from the face of the north.
14 Then the Lord said to me, Out of the north evil will come, bursting out on all the people of the land.
And the Lord said to me: from the north shall an evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For see, I will send for all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they will come, everyone placing his high seat at the way into Jerusalem, and against its walls on every side, and against all the towns of Judah.
For behold I will call together all the families of the kingdoms of the north: saith the Lord: and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all the walls thereof round about, and upon all the cities of Juda,
16 And I will give my decision against them on account of all their evil-doing; because they have given me up, burning perfumes to other gods and worshipping the works of their hands.
And I will pronounce my judgements against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, and have adored the work of their own hands.
17 So make yourself ready, and go and say to them everything I give you orders to say: do not be overcome by fear of them, or I will send fear on you before them.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance.
18 For see, this day have I made you a walled town, and an iron pillar, and walls of brass, against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its captains, against its priests, and against the people of the land.
For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land.
19 They will be fighting against you, but they will not overcome you: for I am with you, says the Lord, to give you salvation.
And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
