Jeremiah 1:4-6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.[a](A)
6 “Ah, Lord God!” I said,
“I do not know how to speak. I am too young!”[b]
Footnotes
- 1:5 Jeremiah was destined to become a prophet before his birth; cf. Is 49:1, 5; Lk 1:15; Gal 1:15–16. I knew you: I loved you and chose you. I dedicated you: I set you apart to be a prophet. The nations: the neighbors of Judah, along with Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt.
- 1:6 I am too young: like Moses (Ex 3:11, 13; 4:10), Jeremiah at first resists God’s call. This narrative is perhaps patterned after the story of Moses’ call in order to identify Jeremiah as the prophet “like me” in Dt 18:15.
Jeremiah 1:4-6
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)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
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