1. 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. Now 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; I have appointed 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 to whomsoever I shall send thee thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee thou shalt speak.
8. Be not afraid because of them: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.