Jeremiah

Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, was a prophet in Judah from the reign of Josiah to the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. He warned of judgment, was opposed and imprisoned, and foretold the return from exile and a new covenant.

Call

• Jeremiah 1:1-3
  ¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. ²To 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.The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, ³It 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.and 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.
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• Jeremiah 1:4-10
  ⁴Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,The word of the LORD came to me, saying: ⁵Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.“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.” ⁶Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!” ⁷But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.But 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. ⁸Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD. ⁹Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.Then 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 this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 1 →

Signs and warnings

• Jeremiah 18:1-6
  ¹The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.“Go down at once to the potter’s house, and there I will reveal My message to you.” ³Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working at the wheel. ⁴And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.But the vessel that he was shaping from the clay became flawed in his hand; so he formed it into another vessel, as it seemed best for him to do. ⁵Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ⁶O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 18 →
• Jeremiah 19:10-11
  ¹⁰Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, ¹¹And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.and you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.
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• Jeremiah 25:11
  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 25 →

Opposition and imprisonment

• Jeremiah 20:1-2
  ¹Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer and the chief official in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, ²Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
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• Jeremiah 20:7-9
  ⁷O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.For whenever I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and destruction. For the word of the LORD has become to me a reproach and derision all day long. ⁹Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
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• Jeremiah 37:15
  Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 37 →
• Jeremiah 38:6
  Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 38 →

Return from exile and a new covenant

• Jeremiah 29:10-11
  ¹⁰For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place. ¹¹For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
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• Jeremiah 31:31-33
  ³¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. ³³But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 31 →

Fall of Jerusalem and Egypt

• Jeremiah 39:11-14
  ¹¹Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar–adan the captain of the guard, saying,Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, saying, ¹²Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.“Take him, look after him, and do not let any harm come to him; do for him whatever he says.” ¹³So Nebuzar–adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab–saris, and Nergal–sharezer, Rab–mag, and all the king of Babylon’s princes;So Nebuzaradan captain of the guard, Nebushazban the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the captains of the king of Babylon ¹⁴Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.had Jeremiah brought from the courtyard of the guard, and they turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So Jeremiah remained among his own people.
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• Jeremiah 43:6-7
  ⁶Even men, and women, and children, and the king’s daughters, and every person that Nebuzar–adan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah.the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah. ⁷So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.So they entered the land of Egypt because they did not obey the voice of the LORD, and they went as far as Tahpanhes.
  Show context · Read Jeremiah 43 →

In the New Testament

• Matthew 2:17-18
  ¹⁷Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: ¹⁸In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
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• Matthew 16:14
  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
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• Hebrews 8:8-10
  ⁸For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ⁹Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord. ¹⁰For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
  Show context · Read Hebrews 8 →

See also

• Isaiah
• Covenant
• Persecution
• Judgment

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.