Jeremiah 1 - Easy To Read Version

¹ These are the messages of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the son of a man named Hilkiah. Jeremiah belonged to the family of priests that lived in the city of Anathoth. {\cf2\super [1]} That city is in the land that belongs to the family group of Benjamin.

² The Lord began to speak to Jeremiah during the days when Josiah was king of the nation of Judah. Josiah was the son of a man named Amon. The Lord began to speak to Jeremiah in the 13th year that Josiah was king. {\cf2\super [2]}

³ The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Jehoiakim was king of Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah during the eleven years and five months that Zedekiah was king of Judah. Zedekiah was also a son of Josiah. In the fifth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year as king, the people that lived in Jerusalem were taken away into exile.

⁴ The Lord’s message came to Jeremiah. This message was from the Lord:

⁵ “Before I made you in your mother’s body,\par I knew you.\par Before you were born,\par I chose you for a special work.\par I chose you to be a prophet to the nations.”\par

⁶ Then Jeremiah said, “But Lord All-Powerful, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me,

⁸ Don’t be afraid of anyone.\par I am with you,\par and I will protect you.”\par This message is from the Lord.\par

⁹ Then the Lord reached out with his hand and touched my mouth. The Lord said to me,

¹⁰ Today I have put you in charge\par of nations and kingdoms.\par You will pull up and tear down.\par You will destroy and overthrow.\par You will build up and plant.”\par

¹¹ The Lord’s message came to me. This message was from the Lord: “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

¹² The Lord said to me, “You have seen very well. And I am watching {\cf2\super [3]} to make sure that my message to you comes true.”

¹³ The Lord’s message came to me again. This was the Lord’s message: “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

¹⁴ The Lord said to me,\par “Something terrible will come\par from the north.\par It will happen to all the people\par that live in this country.\par

¹⁵ In a short time I will call all of the people\par in the northern kingdoms.”\par The Lord said those things.\par

¹⁶ And I will announce my judgment\par against my people.\par I will do this because they are bad people\par and they have turned against me.\par My people left me.\par They offered sacrifices to other gods.\par They worshiped idols that they had made\par with their own hands.\par

¹⁷ “As for you, Jeremiah, get ready.\par Stand up and speak to the people.\par Tell them everything that I tell you to say.\par Don’t be afraid of the people.\par If you are afraid of the people,\par then I will give you good reason\par to be afraid of them.\par

¹⁸ As for me, today I will make you\par like a strong city,\par an iron column,\par a bronze wall.\par You will be able to stand\par against everyone in the land,\par against the kings of the land of Judah,\par against the leaders of Judah,\par against the priests of Judah,\par and against the people of the land of Judah.\par

¹⁹ All those people will fight against you,\par but they will not defeat you.\par Why? Because I am with you,\par and I will save you.”\par This message is from the Lord.\par