¹ The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah,—of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin:

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;

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.

⁴ So then, the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying:

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.

⁶ Then said I—Ah! My Lord Yahweh! Lo! I know not how to speak,—For a child, am I!

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:

⁸ Be not afraid of their faces, For with thee, am I, to deliver thee Declareth Yahweh.

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.

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.

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.

¹² Then said Yahweh unto me—Thou hast rightly seen,—for keeping watch, am I over my word to perform it.

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.

¹⁴ Then said Yahweh unto me,—Out of the North, shall break forth calamity, against all the inhabitants of the land.

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!

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,

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.

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.

¹⁹ And they will fight against thee but shall not prevail against thee,—for with thee, am I, Declareth Yahweh, to deliver thee.