Jeremiah · Literal Standard Version
Jeremiah 1 Literal Standard Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 Words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who [are] in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin,
1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2 to whom the word of YHWH has been in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,
2 Yahweh’s word came to him in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3 and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the expulsion of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
3 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.
4 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,
4 Now Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
5 “Before I form you in the belly, I have known you; and before you come forth from the womb I have separated you; I have made you a prophet to the nations.”
5 “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 And I say, “Aah! Lord YHWH! Behold, I have not known—to speak, for I [am] a youth.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
7 And YHWH says to me, “Do not say, I [am] a youth, for to all to whom I send you—go, and all that I command you—speak.
7 But Yahweh said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of their faces, for I [am] with you to deliver you,” a declaration of YHWH.
8 Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says Yahweh.
9 And YHWH puts forth His hand, and strikes against my mouth, and YHWH says to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. Then Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have charged you this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”
10 Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
11 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “What are you seeing, Jeremiah?” And I say, “I am seeing a rod of an almond tree.”
11 Moreover Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 And YHWH says to me, “You have seen well: for I am watching over My word to do it.”
12 Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well; for I watch over my word to perform it.”
13 And there is a word of YHWH to me a second time, saying, “What are you seeing?” And I say, “I am seeing a blown pot, and its face [is] from the north.”
13 Yahweh’s word came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?” I said, “I see a boiling cauldron; and it is tipping away from the north.”
14 And YHWH says to me, “From the north the evil is loosed against all inhabitants of the land.
14 Then Yahweh said to me, “Out of the north, evil will break out on all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For behold, I am calling for all families of the kingdoms of the north,” a declaration of YHWH, “And they have come, and each put his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and by its walls all around, and by all cities of Judah.
15 For behold, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says Yahweh. “They will come, and they will each set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls all around, and against all the cities of Judah.
16 And I have spoken My judgments with them concerning all their evil, in that they have forsaken Me, and make incense to other gods, and bow themselves to the works of their own hands.
16 I will utter my judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 And you, you gird up your loins, and have arisen, and spoken to them all that I command you: do not be frightened because of them, lest I frighten you before them.
17 “You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you before them.
18 And I, behold, have given you this day for a fortified city, and for an iron pillar, and for bronze walls over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to its heads, to its priests, and to the people of the land;
18 For behold, I have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.
19 and they have fought against you, and they do not prevail against you; for I [am] with you,” a declaration of YHWH, “to deliver you.”
19 They will fight against you, but they will not prevail against you; for I am with you”, says Yahweh, “to rescue you.”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
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)