6. But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”
7-8. God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.Don’t be afraid of a soul.I’ll be right there, looking after you.”God’s Decree.
9-10. God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,“Look! I’ve just put my words in your mouth—hand-delivered!See what I’ve done? I’ve given you a job to doamong nations and governments—a red-letter day!Your job is to pull up and tear down,take apart and demolish,And then start over,building and planting.”
11-12. God’s Message came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”I said, “A walking stick—that’s all.”And God said, “Good eyes! I’m sticking with you.I’ll make every word I give you come true.”
13-15. God’s Message came again: “So what do you see now?”I said, “I see a boiling pot, tipped down toward us.”Then God told me, “Disaster will pour out of the northon everyone living in this land.Watch for this: I’m calling all the kings out of the north.”God’s Decree.
15-16. “They’ll come and set up headquartersfacing Jerusalem’s gates,Facing all the city walls,facing all the villages of Judah.I’ll pronounce my judgment on the people of Judahfor walking out on me—what a terrible thing to do!—And courting other gods with their offerings,worshiping as gods sticks they’d carved, stones they’d painted.