Jeremiah 1

King James Version

¹ The wordswords of JeremiahJeremiah the sonson of Hilkiah, of the priestspriests that were in Anathoth in the landland of BenjaminBenjamin:

² To whom the wordthe word of the LORDthe LORD came in the daysdays of Josiah the sonson of Amon king of JudahJudah, in the thirteenth yearthirteenth year of his reignreign.

³ It came also in the daysdays of JehoiakimJehoiakim the sonson of Josiah king of JudahJudah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the sonson of Josiah king of JudahJudah, unto the carrying away of JerusalemJerusalem captive in the fifth monthmonth.

⁴ Then the wordthe word of the LORDthe LORD came unto me, saying,

⁵ Before I formedformed thee in the bellybelly I knewknew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the wombwomb I sanctifiedsanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophetprophet unto the nationsnations.

⁶ Then saidsaid I, Ah, LordLord GOD! behold, I cannot speakspeak: for I am a child.

⁷ But the LORDthe LORD saidsaid unto me, SaySay not, I am a child: for thou shalt gogo to all that I shall sendsend thee, and whatsoever I commandcommand thee thou shalt speakspeak.

⁸ Be not afraidafraid of their facesfaces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saithsaith the LORDthe LORD.

⁹ Then the LORDthe LORD putput forth his handhand, and touchedtouched my mouthmouth. And the LORDthe LORD saidsaid unto me, Behold, I have putput my wordswords in thy mouthmouth.

¹⁰ SeeSee, I have this dayday set thee over the nationsnations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to buildbuild, and to plantplant.

¹¹ Moreover the wordthe word of the LORDthe LORD came unto me, saying, JeremiahJeremiah, what seest thou? And I saidsaid, I seesee a rod of an almond tree.

¹² Then saidsaid the LORDthe LORD unto me, Thou hast well seenseen: for I will hasten my wordword to perform it.

¹³ And the wordthe word of the LORDthe LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I saidsaid, I seesee a seething potpot; and the faceface thereof is toward the northnorth.

¹⁴ Then the LORDthe LORD saidsaid unto me, Out of the northnorth an evilevil shall break forth upon all the inhabitantsthe inhabitants of the landland.

¹⁵ For, lo, I will callcall all the familiesfamilies of the kingdoms of the northnorth, saithsaith the LORDthe LORD; and they shall comecome, and they shall set every oneevery one his thronethrone at the entering of the gatesgates of JerusalemJerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round aboutround about, and against all the citiescities of JudahJudah.

¹⁶ And I will utter my judgmentsjudgments against them touchingtouching all their wickednesswickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other godsgods, and worshipped the worksworks of their ownown handshands.

¹⁷ Thou therefore gird up thy loinsloins, and arise, and speakspeak unto them all that I commandcommand thee: be not dismayed at their facesfaces, lest I confound thee beforebefore them.

¹⁸ For, behold, I have made thee this dayday a defenced citycity, and an ironiron pillarpillar, and brasenbrasen wallswalls against the whole landland, against the kings ofthe kings of JudahJudah, against the princesprinces thereof, against the priestspriests thereof, and against the people of the landland.

¹⁹ And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saithsaith the LORDthe LORD, to deliver thee.

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Study the Inner Meaning

Chapter summary

Exploring the Meaning of Jeremiah 1

Chapter 1 of the Book of Jeremiah could be titled: Humility Precedes Enlightenment

Rev. Louis Hoecht, in his book of Bible commentary, "The Tree of Life", provides this explanation:

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the time of Josiah, king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem into captivity.

The discovery of a long lost book of the law in Josiah's reign started a great reformation. This revival and the subsequent decadence and captivity form the background of this prophecy.

Jeremiah saw clearly the cause of his people's decline, and yearned to sound the alarm, and save them from the impending fall, but felt incompetent to say the word. A touch of the Divine hand upon his lips, however, conferred the power of speech without fear or favor for the best interests of the last remnant of a great nation.

And so humility, and an irrepressible desire to do something to be different and make the world different, open the mind to the meaning of prophecy and its bearing upon evils within that are the source of all the disorder in the world. The vision of the rod of an almond tree, the first to blossom in the spring, is reassuring. "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" Trouble is nigh, a heartburning of alarming intensity.

The word comes to uncover the complete collapse of the church, or of religion itself, under pressure from the love of dominion, Babylon will invest Jerusalem with intent to destroy her defences, and exterminate her kings, and princes, and priests and people. "They shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee."

From Swedenborg's Works

Main explanations:

The Inner Meaning of the Prophets and Psalms 67

Other references to this chapter:

Arcana Coelestia 699, 2838, 3708, 5622, 8106, 8408, 9475, ...10105, 10130, 10177, 10406

Apocalypse Revealed 194, 457, 898, 899

Doctrine of the Lord 53

True Christian Religion 158

References from Swedenborg's drafts, indexes & diaries:

Apocalypse Explained 79, 208, 219, 223, 324, 433, 585, ...710

Spiritual Experiences 228

Jeremiah 1

Exploring the Meaning of Jeremiah 1 $("#stopbutton6").hide();

Exploring the Meaning of Jeremiah 1