1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, from among the priests who were at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2 The word of the LORD came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year that he reigned.
3 It came as well in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, up to the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I shaped you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I consecrated you; a prophet to the nations I made you."
6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! See, I do not know how to speak; I am just a boy."
7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am just a boy.' To all to whom I send you, you will go, and all that I command you, you will speak.
8 Do not fear their faces, for I am with you to rescue you," declares the LORD.
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and made it touch my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "See, I have placed my words in your mouth.
10 Look, today I have set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
11 The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "The rod of an almond tree is what I see."
12 And the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it."
13 A second time the word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see?" I said, "A pot set boiling is what I see, and its face is tipped from the north."
14 And the LORD said to me, "Out of the north the disaster will be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For look, I am calling all the clans of the kingdoms of the north," declares the LORD, "and they will come and set each his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls on every side, and against all the cities of Judah.
16 I will speak my judgments against them for all their evil, because they abandoned me, made offerings to other gods, and bowed down to what their own hands had made.
17 As for you, tie up your waist, rise and tell them everything I command you. Do not be shattered before them, or I will shatter you before them.
18 And I, look, I make you today a fortified city, a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its officials, against its priests, and against the people of the land.
19 They will make war on you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you," declares the LORD.