Jeremiah 1 - Intro - 1:4-19 Commission of a Prophet

The Gemara further asks: Consider: Isaiah preceded Jeremiah and Ezekiel; let the book of Isaiah precede the books of those other prophets.

The Gemara answers: Since the book of Kings ends with the destruction of the Temple,

and the book of Jeremiah deals entirely with prophecies of the destruction,

and the book of Ezekiel begins with the destruction of the Temple but ends with consolation and the rebuilding of the Temple,

and Isaiah deals entirely with consolation, as most of his prophecies refer to the redemption,

we juxtapose destruction to destruction and consolation to consolation.

This accounts for the order: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah.

...We find there to have been three (kinds of) prophets. One claimed the honor of the Father and the father of the son; another, the honor of the Father, but not the honor of the son; another, the honor of the son, but not the honor of the Father.

Jeremiah claimed the honor of the Father and the honor of the son, viz. (Eichah 3:42) "We have offended and rebelled" (the honor of the Father); "You have not forgiven" (the honor of the son). Therefore, his prophecy was "doubled," (Jeremiah 36:33) "… and many other words were added to them" (the prophecies of Jeremiah).

Eliyahu claimed the honor of the Father, but not the honor of the son, viz. (I Kings 19:10) "I have been very jealous for the L rd, the G d of hosts, etc." And what is stated in this regard? (Ibid. 15-16) "And the L rd said to him: Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus … And Yehu the son of Nimshi shall you anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shafat … shall you anoint to be a prophet in your place." What is the intent of this? He does not desire your prophecy (because you do not claim the honor of Israel).

Jonah claimed the honor of the son, but not the honor of the Father. What is stated in that regard? (Jonah 1:3) "And the word of the L rd came to Jonah a second time, saying." What is the intent of this? We will speak with him a second time, but not a third, (for he did not claim the honor of the L rd). ...

(1) The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

(2) The word of the LORD came to him in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign, (3) and throughout the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, when Jerusalem went into exile in the fifth month.

(4) The word of the LORD came to me: (5) Before I created you in the womb, I selected you;
Before you were born, I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet concerning the nations. (6) I replied:
Ah, Lord GOD!
I don’t know how to speak,
For I am still a boy.

(7) And the LORD said to me:
Do not say, “I am still a boy,”
But go wherever I send you
And speak whatever I command you. (8) Have no fear of them,
For I am with you to deliver you
—declares the LORD.
(9) The LORD put out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: Herewith I put My words into your mouth. (10) See, I appoint you this day
Over nations and kingdoms:
To uproot and to pull down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To build and to plant.

(11) The word of the LORD came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? I replied: I see a branch of an almond tree. (12) The LORD said to me:
You have seen right,
For I am watchful to bring My word to pass.

(13) And the word of the LORD came to me a second time: What do you see? I replied:
I see a steaming pot,
Tipped away from the north. (14) And the LORD said to me:
From the north shall disaster break loose
Upon all the inhabitants of the land! (15) For I am summoning all the peoples
Of the kingdoms of the north
—declares the LORD.
They shall come, and shall each set up a throne
Before the gates of Jerusalem,
Against its walls round about,
And against all the towns of Judah. (16) And I will argue My case against them
For all their wickedness:
They have forsaken Me
And sacrificed to other gods
And worshiped the works of their hands.
(17) So you, gird up your loins,
Arise and speak to them
All that I command you.
Do not break down before them,
Lest I break you before them. (18) I make you this day
A fortified city,
And an iron pillar,
And bronze walls
Against the whole land—
Against Judah’s kings and officers,
And against its priests and citizens. (19) They will attack you,
But they shall not overcome you;
For I am with you—declares the LORD—to save you.

(10) Come, therefore, I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free My people, the Israelites, from Egypt.” (11) But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites from Egypt?” (12) And He said, “I will be with you; that shall be your sign that it was I who sent you. And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.”

(18) I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, like yourself: I will put My words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him;

(5) I cried,
“Woe is me; I am lost!
For I am a man of unclean lips^-b
And I live among a people
Of unclean lips;
Yet my own eyes have beheld
The King LORD of Hosts.”
(6) Then one of the seraphs flew over to me with a live coal, which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. (7) He touched it to my lips and declared,

“Now that this has touched your lips,
Your guilt shall depart
And your sin be purged away.”

(27) See, a time is coming—declares the LORD—when I will sow the House of Israel and the House of Judah with seed of men and seed of cattle; (28) and just as I was watchful over them to uproot and to pull down, to overthrow and to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will be watchful over them to build and to plant—declares the LORD.