1. The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2. The word of the Lord, which came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,
3. and which came to him in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, even until the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, even until the transmigration of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4. And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations."
6. And I said: "Alas, alas, alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a boy."
7. And the Lord said to me: "Do not choose to say, 'I am a boy.' For you shall go forth to everyone to whom I will send you. And you shall speak all that I will command you.
8. You should not be afraid before their face. For I am with you, so that I may deliver you," says the Lord.
9. And the Lord put forth his hand, and he touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have placed my words in your mouth.
10. Behold, today I have appointed you over nations and over kingdoms, so that you may root up, and pull down, and destroy, and scatter, and so that you may build and plant."