| New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
| 1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. | 1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, |
| 2The LORD first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. | 2to 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 reign. |
| 3The LORD’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives. Jeremiah’s Call and First Visions | 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month. |
| 4The LORD gave me this message: | 4Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 5“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” | 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” |
| 6“O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” | 6Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” |
| 7The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. | 7But 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 whatever I command you, you shall speak. |
| 8And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” | 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.” |
| 9Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! | 9Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. |
| 10Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.” | 10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” |
| 11Then the LORD said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.” | 11And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” |
| 12And the LORD said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” | 12Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” |
| 13Then the LORD spoke to me again and asked, “What do you see now?” And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, spilling from the north.” | 13The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” |
| 14“Yes,” the LORD said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land. | 14Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. |
| 15Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the LORD, have spoken! “They will set their thrones at the gates of the city. They will attack its walls and all the other towns of Judah. | 15For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and 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. |
| 16I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil— for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands! | 16And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. |
| 17“Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. | 17But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. |
| 18For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. | 18And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. |
| 19They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” | 19They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.” |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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