Jeremiah 1:11

Yahweh Confirms Jeremiah’s Call

11 And the word of Yahweh came to me, {saying},^[a] "What [are] you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a branch of an almond tree."

Jeremiah 1:11 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 1:11

Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me
At the same time as before: saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou?
The Septuagint version leaves out the word "Jeremiah": and I said, I see a rod of an almond tree;
a dry stick, without leaves or fruit upon it, and yet he knew it to be an almond tree stick; though some think it had leaves and fruit on it, by which it was known. The Targum is,

``and I said, a king hastening to do evil I see;''

meaning Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, hastening to bring destruction upon the Jews.

Jeremiah 1:11 In-Context

9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me, "Look, I have put my words in your mouth.

10 See, I appoint you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, and to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant."

11 And the word of Yahweh came to me, {saying}, "What [are] you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a branch of an almond tree."

12 Then Yahweh said to me, "You did well to see, for I [am] watching over my word to perform it."

13 And the word of Yahweh came to me a second [time], {saying}, "What [are] you seeing?" And I said, "I [am] seeing a {boiling} pot, and its face [is] from [the] face of [the] north."

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "to say"