Jer 1
1
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in
the land of Benjamin:
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to whom the word of YHWH came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah,
in the thirteenth year of his reign.
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It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the end
of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, to the carrying
away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
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Now the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
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Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the
womb I sanctified you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.
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Then said I, Ah, Lord YHWH! behold, I know not how to speak; for I am a child.
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But YHWH said to me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomever I shall send you you shall
go, and whatever I shall command you you shall speak.
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Be not afraid because of them; for I am with you to deliver you, says YHWH.
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Then YHWH put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and YHWH said to me, Behold, I
have put my words in your mouth:
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see, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and
to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
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Moreover the word of YHWH came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what see you? And I said,
I see a rod of an almond-tree.
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Then said YHWH to me, You have well seen: for I watch over my word to perform it.
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And the word of YHWH came to me the second time, saying, What see you? And I said,
I see a boiling caldron; and its face is from the north.
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Then YHWH said to me, Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants
of the land.
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For, behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says YHWH;
and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the
gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about, and against all
the cities of Judah.
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And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that
they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works
of their own hands.
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You therefore gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command
you: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
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For, behold, I have made you this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen
walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes,
against its priests, and against the people of the land.
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And they shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you: for I am
with you, says YHWH, to deliver you.