| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. | 1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. |
| 2The LORD first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. | 2The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, |
| 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 | 3and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. |
| 4The LORD gave me this message: | 4The 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 set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” |
| 6“O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” | 6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” |
| 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 told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must 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 reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and 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 appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and 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, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied. |
| 12And the LORD said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” | 12“You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish 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.” | 13Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us 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, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in 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 I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other 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! | 16I will pronounce My judgments against them for all their wickedness, because they have forsaken Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship 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. | 17Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify 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. | 18Now behold, this day I have made you like 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 will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. |
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