Jeremiah 1:1-10 - Yahweh Appoints Jeremiah As A Prophet To The Nations

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 the Lord came during the thirteenth year (627 b.c.) of the reign of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah. ³ It came [to Jeremiah] also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, [continuing] until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, [and continuing] until the exile of [the people of] Jerusalem in the fifth month (July-August, 586 b.c.).

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

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“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument],
And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own];
I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

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Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
For I am [only] a young man.”

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But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am [only] a young man,’
Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
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“Do not be afraid of them [or their hostile faces],
For I am with you [always] to protect you and deliver you,” says the Lord.

⁹ Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Behold (hear Me), I have put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰
“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To uproot and break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.”