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About this book: Jeremiah

Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible by word count and the most personal of the prophets. God calls Jeremiah while still young and sends him to warn Judah that idolatry, injustice and false security in the temple will bring disaster. For decades he is mocked, beaten and threatened, and he openly complains to God about the cost of the task. The book is not arranged in strict time order; it gathers sermons, symbolic acts, stories about the prophet and his scribe Baruch, and poems of grief. Jerusalem falls to Babylon just as he said. Yet in the middle of the book stands a message of hope: God promises a new covenant written on the heart, forgiveness of sin, and a future for his scattered people. Christians see in that promise a foreshadowing of what Jesus brings. Jeremiah shows that faithfulness to God can be lonely and costly, and that God does not abandon those who obey him.

Author
The prophet Jeremiah, with his scribe Baruch helping to write and preserve the scroll.
Date
Jeremiah prophesied from about 626 BC until after Jerusalem fell in 586 BC; the book was edited into its final form during or after the exile.
Audience
The people and leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and later the exiles in Babylon.

Themes

God's call and the prophet's costIdolatry and false securityRepentance and judgmentThe new covenantHope in exile

Outline

  1. 1:1–1:19The call of Jeremiah
  2. 2:1–25:38Warnings against Judah's sin
  3. 26:1–29:32Conflict with false prophets, letter to exiles
  4. 30:1–33:26The book of consolation
  5. 34:1–45:5Siege, fall and aftermath
  6. 46:1–52:34Oracles against the nations

Key verses

About this chapterJeremiah, a priest's son from Anathoth, records God's call in the days of Josiah and through the fall of Jerusalem. God says he knew and set him apart before he was born, appointing him a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protests that he is only a youth and cannot speak, but God tells him not to say that, touches his mouth, and puts his words there. Two visions follow: an almond branch, showing God is watching over his word, and a boiling pot tipping from the north, showing disaster coming. God tells Jeremiah to stand firm and not be terrified, for though they will fight him, they will not overcome him.

Jeremiah, a priest's son from Anathoth, records God's call in the days of Josiah and through the fall of Jerusalem. God says he knew and set him apart before he was born, appointing him a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah protests that he is only a youth and cannot speak, but God tells him not to say that, touches his mouth, and puts his words there. Two visions follow: an almond branch, showing God is watching over his word, and a boiling pot tipping from the north, showing disaster coming. God tells Jeremiah to stand firm and not be terrified, for though they will fight him, they will not overcome him.

Themes

  • God's call before birth
  • Fear and reassurance
  • Warnings of judgment

Key verses

Audio Bible · Jeremiah 1

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Jeremiah 1

Berean Standard Bible19 verses · 2 min read

1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3and through the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. 4The 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 set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” 7But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak. 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,”declares the LORD. 9Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.” 11And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied. 12“You have observed correctly,” said the LORD, “for I am watching over My word to accomplish it.” 13Again the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot,” I replied, “and it is tilting toward us from the north.” 14Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15For I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem. They will attack all her surrounding walls and all the other cities of Judah. 16I will pronounce My judgments against them for all their wickedness, because they have forsaken Me, and they have burned incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18Now behold, this day I have made you like 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 will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

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Verses in Jeremiah 1

Chapters of Jeremiah

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