1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 to whom the word of Jehovah came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month. 4 Now the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, I know not how to speak; for I am a child. 7 But Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith Jehovah. 9 Then Jehovah put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth: 10 see, I have this day set thee 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. 11 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree. 12 Then said Jehovah unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch over my word to perform it. 13 And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling caldron; and the face thereof is from the north. 14 Then Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.
Jeremiah · American Standard Version (1901)
Jeremiah 1 American Standard Version (1901)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
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People
Hilkiah
One of the priests at Anathoth, named as the father of the prophet Jeremiah.
Cited in the guide: Jeremiah 1:1
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Chronicles 6:60; 2 Chronicles 36:21; Ezekiel 1:3; Jeremiah 11:21; Jeremiah 32:7–9
- 2 1 Kings 13:20; Jonah 1:1; Jeremiah 1:11; Hosea 1:1; Micah 1:1
- 3 Jeremiah 39:2; 2 Kings 23:34; 2 Chronicles 36:5–8; Zechariah 7:5; Jeremiah 21:1–14
- 4 Ezekiel 3:16; Ezekiel 1:3; Jeremiah 1:2
- 5 Psalm 139:16; Isaiah 49:1; Galatians 1:15–16; Psalm 71:5–6; Romans 8:29
- 6 Exodus 4:10–16; Exodus 6:12; 1 Kings 3:7–9; Jeremiah 32:17; Jeremiah 14:13
- 7 Ezekiel 3:27; Mark 16:15–16; Numbers 22:20; Ezekiel 3:17–21; 2 Chronicles 18:13
- 8 Joshua 1:5; Joshua 1:9; Luke 12:4–5; Isaiah 51:7; Deuteronomy 31:6
- 9 Luke 21:15; Exodus 4:11–12; Luke 12:12; Isaiah 51:16; Isaiah 50:4
- 10 Jeremiah 31:28; 2 Corinthians 10:4–5; Isaiah 44:26–28; Jeremiah 31:4–5; Jeremiah 24:6
- 11 Amos 7:8; Amos 8:2; Zechariah 5:2; Jeremiah 24:3; Zechariah 4:2
- 12 Ezekiel 12:28; Ezekiel 12:25; Ezekiel 12:22–23; Luke 10:28; Amos 8:2
- 13 Ezekiel 11:7; Ezekiel 11:3; Zechariah 4:2; 2 Corinthians 13:1–2; Ezekiel 24:3–14
- 14 Jeremiah 6:1; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 4:6; Isaiah 41:25; Jeremiah 6:22
- 15 Jeremiah 9:11; Jeremiah 25:9; Jeremiah 4:16; Jeremiah 43:10; Jeremiah 10:25
- 16 Jeremiah 7:9; Jeremiah 19:4; Deuteronomy 28:20; Acts 7:41; Isaiah 2:8
- 17 1 Kings 18:46; Jeremiah 1:7–8; Luke 12:35; 1 Peter 1:13; Ezekiel 3:14–18
- 18 Isaiah 50:7; Ezekiel 3:8–9; Jeremiah 15:20; Jeremiah 6:27; Micah 3:8–9
- 19 Joshua 1:9; Jeremiah 1:8; Jeremiah 20:11; Psalm 129:2; Jeremiah 29:25–32
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Now, that the Word of God forms us in the womb, He says to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before thou wentest forth from the belly, I sanctified thee, and appointed thee a prophet among the nations." And Paul, too, says in like manner, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from …
… hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body." We ought not even to call a woman the creatress of her own offspring; for He rather is its creator who said to His servant, "Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee." And although the various mental emotions of a pregnant woman do produce in the fruit …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Jeremiah was sanctified, but did not prophesy, in the womb: John alone while carried in the womb leaped for joy, and though he saw not with the eyes of flesh, knew his Master by the Spirit: for since the grace of Baptism was great, it required greatness in its founder also.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
But in the saying addressed to Jeremiah, "See, I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down," there is no doubt the whole of the language is figurative, and to be referred to the end I have spoken of.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
The Lord saith unto Jeremiah: Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)