Chapter 1

Jeremiah

1 note in this chapter

5 Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1:5

1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2to 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. 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

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

5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”✦

5Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1:5

Critical Commentary

Jeremiah 1:5 has God say that before he formed Jeremiah in the womb he knew him, and that he appointed him a prophet to the nations. The argument sets this beside Jeremiah’s complaint in Jeremiah 20:7 that the LORD has deceived him and that he was deceived. A prophet chosen before birth is hard to reconcile with a God who is said to deceive that same prophet.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5

O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:7

Source: see Credits and references (no. 18, p. 16).

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6Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.”

7But the LORD said to me,“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,and whatever I command you, you shall speak.8Do not be afraid of them,for I am with you to deliver you,declares the LORD.”9Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,to pluck up and to break down,to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant.”

11And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

13The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18And I, behold, I make you this day 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 against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”

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