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 the Lord 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 Then the word of the Lord 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, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord 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 root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
13 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
14 Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an 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 the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering 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, who 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 their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen 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 the Lord, to deliver thee.

1The wordes of Ieremiah the sonne of Hilkiah, of the Priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Beniamin:

2To whom the word of the Lord came in the dayes of Iosiah the sonne of Amon king of Iudah, in the thirteenth yeere of his reigne.

3It came also in the dayes of Iehoiakim the sonne of Iosiah king of Iudah, vnto the ende of the eleuenth yeere of Zedekiah the sonne of Iosiah king of Iudah, vnto the carrying away of Ierusalem captiue in the fift moneth.

4Then the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying,

5Before I formed thee in the bellie, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the wombe, I sanctified thee, and I ordeined thee a Prophet vnto the nations.

6Then said I, Ah Lord God, behold, I cannot speake, for I am a childe.

7 But the Lord sayd vnto me, Say not, I am a childe: for thou shalt goe to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoeuer I command thee, thou shalt speake.

8Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliuer thee, sayth the Lord.

9Then the Lord put foorth his hand, and touched my mouth, and the Lord said vnto me, Behold, I haue put my words in thy mouth.

10See, I haue this day set thee ouer the nations, and ouer the kingdomes, to roote out, and to pull downe, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build and to plant.

11 Moreouer, the word of the Lord came vnto me, saying; Ieremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rodde of an almond tree.

12Then said the Lord vnto me, Thou hast well seene: for I will hasten my word to performe it.

13And the worde of the Lord came vnto mee the second time, saying; What seest thou? And I said; I see a seething pot, and the face thereof was towards the North.

14Then the Lord said vnto me; Out of the North an euill shal breake foorth vpon all the inhabitants of the land.

15For loe, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the North, saith the Lord, and they shall come, and they shall set euery one his throne at the entring of the gates of Ierusalem, and against all the walles thereof round about, & against all the cities of Iudah.

16And I will vtter my iudgements against them touching all their wickednesse, who haue forsaken me, and haue burnt incense vnto other gods, and worshipped the workes of their owne hands.

17 Thou therefore gird vp thy loynes, and arise and speake vnto them all that I commaund thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

18For behold, I haue made thee this day a defenced citie, and an yron pillar, and brasen walles against the whole land, against the kings of Iudah, against the princes thereof, against the Priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

19And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not preuaile against thee: for I am with thee, sayth the Lord, to deliuer thee.

I Josh 21:18 ; 1st Chr 6:60 ; Jer 32:7-9

III == 2nd Kings 25:8 ; Jer 39:2 ; 52:12 , 15

V == Ex 33:12 , 17 ; Isa 4: ; 9:1 , 5 ; Luke 1:15 ; 4:1 ; Ga; 1:15-16

VI == Ex 4:10 ; 6:12 , 30 ; Isa 6:5

VII == Num 22:20 , 38 ; Matt 28:20

VIII == Ex 3:12 ; Deut 31:6 , 8 ; Josh 1:5 ; Jer 1:17 ; 15:20 ; Ezel 2:6 ; 3:9 ; Acts 26:17 ; Heb 13:6

IX == Isa 6:7 ; 51:16 ; Jer 5:14

X == 1st Kings 19:17 ; Jer 18:7 ; 2nd Cor 10:4-5

XIII == Ezek 11:3 , 7 ; 24:3

XV == Jer 5:15 ; 6:22 ; 10:22 ; 25:9 ; 39:3 ; 43:10

XVI == Deut 28:20 ; Jer 17:13

XVII == Ex 3:12 ; 1st Kings 18;4-6 ; 2nd Kings 4:29

XVIII == Isa 50:7 ; Ezek 6:27 ; 15:20

1 The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, of a priestly family in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.

2 The word of the LORD first came to him in the days of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,

3 and continued through the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the downfall and exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah.

4 The word of the LORD came to me thus:

5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

6 "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young."

7 But the LORD answered me, Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

9 Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth!

10 This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, To root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.

11 The word of the LORD came to me with the question: What do you see, Jeremiah? "I see a branch of the watching-tree," I replied.

12 Then the LORD said to me: Well have you seen, for I am watching to fulfill my word.

13 A second time the word of the LORD came to me with the question: What do you see? "I see a boiling cauldron," I replied, "that appears from the north."

14 And from the north, said the LORD to me, evil will boil over upon all who dwell in the land.

15 Lo, I am summoning all the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; Each king shall come and set up his throne at the gateways of Jerusalem, Opposite her walls all around and opposite all the cities of Judah.

16 I will pronounce my sentence against them for all their wickedness in forsaking me, And in burning incense to strange gods and adoring their own handiwork.

17 But do you gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you. Be not crushed on their account, as though I would leave you crushed before them;

18 For it is I this day who have made you a fortified city, A pillar of iron, a wall of brass, against the whole land: Against Judah's kings and princes, against its priests and people.

19 They will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

There was abundance of written records and guided by the Spirit of God, the human author is not known. Jeremiah is believe by Jewish tradition. Who ever it was he makes frequent reference to state annals and other historical records existenting in his day. (1) Book of the Acts of Solomon (2) Book of the Chronicles of the king of Judah (3) The Book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel. ( 1st King 11:41 , 14:19 , 29 15:7 , 23 , 31 , 16:5 , 14 , 27 )

v 1-3. Jeremiah prophesied from around 627-586 BC and his ministry continued to at least 582. It is not written chronologically, as he placed some prophecies together that are dated years apart. This may partly be because his first writing was burned, Jer. 36:23, and rewritten. The last chapter may have been an appendix by some other. Jeremiah was from the priestly line, but did not perform the functions of a priest. His father is not the same Hilkiah who discovered the Law  for Josiah. Anathoth was the city three miles northeast of Jerusalem Joshua allocated to the priests, Josh. 21:16-19

v 4,5. Though God knew us all before the foundation of the world, Jeremiah was specifically set apart for God’s purpose to Judah and the nations from conception.

v 6. Jeremiah protests his inexperience and youth (probably 20 or less).

v 7-10. God’s reply: 1. Don’t claim inexperience (Let no man despise thy youth, 1 Tim. 4:12), but go where I send and speak what I say; 2. God would protect him; 3. God  would put words in his mouth of both blessing and judgment. Vision of mouth touched.

v 11,12. Vision of almond tree which blooms early, showing judgment is near.

v 13-16. Vision of boiling pot tipped south showed Babylon would invade from the north in fury as God judges Judah for worshiping false gods.

v 17-19. Get ready for opposition but don’t fear, you will be like a solid wall. From king to common people would oppose Jeremiah, but God would deliver him.