Jeremiah 1
1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, —of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin:
[I], Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, [am writing] these messages. [I am] a priest, from Anathoth [town] in the area where the tribe of Benjamin [lives].
2 unto whom came the word of Yahweh, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, —in the thirteenth year of his reign;
Yahweh started to give me these messages when Josiah had been ruling Judah for almost 13 years.
3 it came also in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, —as far as the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.
Yahweh continued to give me more messages when Josiah’s son Jehoiakim was the king, and he continued to do that until Zedekiah had been the king of Judah for almost eleven years. It was in August of that year that the people of Jerusalem were (exiled/taken as prisoners) [to Babylonia].
4 So then, the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:
[One day] Yahweh gave me this message:
5 Before I formed thee at thy birth, I took knowledge of thee, And before thy nativity, I hallowed thee, —A prophet to the nations, I appointed thee.
“I knew you before I [finished] forming you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I (set you apart/chose you) and I appointed you to be [my] prophet [whose messages would be] for [all] nations.”
6 Then said I—Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Lo! I know not how to speak, —For a child, am I!
I replied, “O, Yahweh my God, I am [not qualified to] speak [for you], because I am very young!”
7 Then said Yahweh unto me, Do not say, A child, am, I,—For against whomsoever I send thee, shalt thou go, And whatsoever I command thee, shalt thou speak:
Yahweh replied, “Do not say that, because you must go to everyone to whom I will send you, and you must tell them everything that I tell you to say.
8 Be not afraid of their faces, For with thee, am I, to deliver thee Declareth Yahweh.
And you must not be afraid of the people [to whom you will speak], because I will protect you [from being harmed by them]. [This will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”
9 Then Yahweh put forth his hand, and touched my mouth, —and Yahweh said unto me, Lo! I have put my words in thy mouth.
Then [it was as though] Yahweh touched my mouth and said, “Listen to me! I am (putting my message into your mouth/telling you what you must speak).
10 See! I have set thee in charge this day, over the nations and over the kingdoms, To uproot and to break down, and to destroy and to tear in pieces, —To build and to plant.
Today I am appointing you to warn nations and kingdoms. You will tell them that I will completely destroy and get rid of [DOU] some of them and that I will establish [MET] others and cause them to be strong.”
11 Moreover the Word of Yahweh came unto me saying, What canst thou see Jeremiah? And I said, A twig of an almond-tree, can I see.
Then Yahweh said to me, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12 Then said Yahweh unto me—Thou hast rightly seen, —for keeping watch, am I over my word to perform it.
Yahweh said, “That is correct. And [because the word for ‘almond’ resembles the word for ‘watching’], it means that I am watching [what will happen], and I will make certain that what I have said to you [about destroying nations] will happen.”
13 And the word of Yahweh came unto me a second time saying, What canst thou see? And I said, A boiling caldron, can I see, with, the front thereof, on the North.
[Then] Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “What do you see [now]?” I replied, “I see a pot full of boiling [water] [MTY]. It is tipping [toward me] from the north.”
14 Then said Yahweh unto me, —Out of the North, shall break forth calamity, against all the inhabitants of the land.
Yahweh replied, “[Yes! It means that] from the north great trouble/destruction will [spread] [MET] over this land, [like boiling water] [MET] pouring [from a pot].
15 For behold me! calling for all the families of the kingdoms of the North, Declareth Yahweh, —and they shall come, and set every one his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem and against all her walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah!
Listen to what I say: I am summoning [the armies of] kingdoms that will come from the north [of Judah] to Jerusalem. Their kings will set up their thrones at the gates of this city [to indicate that they are now the kings of Judah]. [Their armies] will attack [and break down] the walls of this city, and [they will do the same thing to] all the [other] towns in Judah.
16 Then will I pronounce my judgments against them, concerning all their wickedness, —in that they have forsaken me and have burned incense unto other gods, and have bowed down to the works of their own hands,
I will punish [MTY] my people because of all the evil things that they have done; they have abandoned me and they worship gods/idols. They worship idols that they have made with their own hands!
17 Thou, therefore, shalt gird thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them, all that, I, command thee, —be not dismayed because of them, lest I dismay thee before their face.
So, get up and put on your clothes [to get ready for action]! Then go to the people of Judah and tell them everything that I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, because [if you are afraid of them], I will cause you to be truly terrified in front of them!
18 I, therefore—lo! I have set thee to-day as a fortified city, and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze, over all the land, —against the kings of Judah, against her princes, against her priests and against the people of the land.
But listen! I will cause you to be [strong, like] [MET] a city that has strong walls around it. You will be [as strong as] [MET] an iron pillar or a bronze wall. None of the kings or officials or priests will be able to defeat you.
19 And they will fight against thee but shall not prevail against thee, —for with thee, am I, Declareth Yahweh, to deliver thee.
They will oppose you, but they will not be able to defeat you, because I will be with you and will protect you. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”
