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These are the words Jeremiah received from the Lord. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah was one of the priests at Anathoth. That's a town in the territory of Benjamin. 2 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the 13th year that Josiah was king over Judah. Josiah was the son of Amon. 3 After Josiah, his son Jehoiakim was king over Judah. The Lord's message also came to Jeremiah during the whole time Jehoiakim ruled. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Zedekiah was king over Judah. He did this until the fifth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah's rule. That's when the people of Jerusalem were forced to leave their country. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah. Here is what Jeremiah said. 4 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,
5 ‘Before I formed you in your mother's body I chose you.
Before you were born I set you apart to serve me.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.’
6 ‘You are my Lord and King,’ I said. ‘I don't know how to speak. I'm too young.’
7 But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I'm too young.” You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of the people I send you to. I am with you. I will save you,’ announces the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand. He touched my mouth and spoke to me. He said, ‘I have put my words in your mouth. 10 Today I am appointing you to speak to nations and kingdoms. I give you authority to pull them up by the roots and tear them down. I give you authority to destroy them and crush them. I give you authority to build them up and plant them.’
11 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
‘The branch of an almond tree,’ I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, ‘You have seen correctly. I am watching to see that my word comes true.’
13 Another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, ‘What do you see?’
‘A pot that has boiling water in it,’ I answered. ‘It's leaning towards us from the north.’
14 The Lord said to me, ‘Something very bad will be poured out on everyone who lives in this land. It will come from the north. 15 I am about to send for all the armies in the northern kingdoms,’ announces the Lord.
‘Their kings will come to Jerusalem.
They will set up their thrones at the very gates of the city.
They will attack all the walls that surround the city.
They will go to war against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will judge my people.
They have done many evil things.
They have deserted me.
They have burned incense to other gods.
They have worshipped the gods
their own hands have made.
17 ‘So get ready! Stand up! Tell them everything I command you to. Do not let them terrify you. If you do, I will terrify you in front of them. 18 Today I have made you like a city that has a high wall around it. I have made you like an iron pillar and a bronze wall. Now you can stand up against the whole land. You can stand against the kings and officials of Judah. You can stand against its priests and its people. 19 They will fight against you. But they will not win the battle over you. I am with you. I will save you,’ announces the Lord.
1:1–19 Jeremiah was set apart by God to be a prophet. Jeremiah didn't think he could do the work God appointed him to do. His doubts were like the doubts that Moses had hundreds of years before (Exodus chapters 3 to 4). God told Moses to speak to the king of Egypt. Moses told God that he couldn't speak well. God told Jeremiah to speak to nations and kingdoms. He was to speak to the kings, officials, priests and people of the southern kingdom. Jeremiah told God that he didn't know how to speak. This wasn't a problem for God. God gave Jeremiah the words to say. God warned Jeremiah that the people he spoke to would fight against him. This means that they wouldn't listen and would try to stop him from speaking. The vision about the pot of boiling water explained God's main message. It was a message of judgement against the southern kingdom. It was an example of the judgement messages Jeremiah would share for many years. God didn't want Jeremiah to be afraid of the people he spoke to. God promised to be with Jeremiah and to save him.