Jeremiah

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.Before you were born, I sanctified you.I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” ⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord the Lord! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.” ⁷But the Lord said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for you must go to whomever I send you, and you must say whatever I command you. ⁸Don’t be afraid because of them, for I am with you to rescue you,” says the Lord. ⁹Then the Lord stretched out his hand, and touched my mouth. Then the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” ¹¹Moreover the Lord’s word came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”