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Jeremiah 1:4-12
New King James Version
Jeremiah 1:4-12
New King James Version
The Prophet Is Called
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
5 “Before I (A)formed you in the womb (B)I knew you;
Before you were born I (C)sanctified[a] you;
I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then said I:
(D)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And (E)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 (F)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For (G)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and (H)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have (I)put My words in your mouth.
10 (J)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To (K)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a [c]branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am [d]ready to perform My word.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 set you apart
- Jeremiah 1:5 appointed
- Jeremiah 1:11 Lit. rod
- Jeremiah 1:12 Lit. watching
Jeremiah 1:4-12
New International Version
Jeremiah 1:4-12
New International Version
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb(A) I knew[a](B) you,
before you were born(C) I set you apart;(D)
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(E)”
6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;(F) I am too young.”(G)
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid(H) of them, for I am with you(I) and will rescue(J) you,” declares the Lord.(K)
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched(L) my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.(M) 10 See, today I appoint you over nations(N) and kingdoms to uproot(O) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”(P)
11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(Q)
“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b](R) to see that my word is fulfilled.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
- Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.