A young man from a priestly village is called to warn Jerusalem in its last forty years. This week covers his call, his temple sermon, the potter's house, and his own struggle to keep speaking.
Chapter
Also read in
Jeremiah 1
Text shown is the King James Version, the Church's preferred English Bible for classes and meetings. The ESV and NRSV are listed in the General Handbook as helpful translations for ages 14 and up; they are copyrighted, so they open on their publishers' sites. Highlighted verses carry a study note with links to compare that verse.
Map
Place
All places on this map
Study guide
Jeremiah is long, out of chronological order, and switches between poetry and prose. These notes give you the background to follow it.
How to read Jeremiah
Don't expect a timeline. The book is a collection of oracles, sermons, and stories gathered later, partly by his scribe Baruch (ch. 36). Chapter 7 and chapter 26 likely describe the same temple sermon.
Notice the shift between poetry and prose. Chapters 2–3 are mostly poetry: images piled on images. Chapter 7 is prose: a structured sermon. Slow down for the poetry and read it aloud.
Watch who is speaking. The voice moves between the Lord, Jeremiah, and the people, sometimes mid-paragraph. Ask "who says this?" at each break.
Look for the laments. Chapters 11–20 hold Jeremiah's personal complaints to God. Chapter 20:7–18 is the most raw of them, ending with him cursing the day he was born (compare Job 3).
A different edition exists. The Greek Septuagint version of Jeremiah is about one-eighth shorter and arranges some chapters differently. Fragments of both forms turned up among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Jeremiah's world
c. 627 BC — Jeremiah called in Josiah's 13th year (1:2)
c. 622 BC — Book of the law found in the temple; Josiah's reform (2 Kings 22–23)
609 BC — Josiah killed at Megiddo; Jehoiakim made king by Egypt
605 BC — Babylon defeats Egypt at Carchemish and becomes the dominant power
597 BC — First deportation to Babylon (Jehoiachin, Ezekiel); Zedekiah made king
First year of Zedekiah — "many prophets" warn Jerusalem; Lehi leaves (1 Nephi 1:4). Traditionally dated 600 BC by Latter-day Saints.
587/586 BC — Jerusalem and Solomon's temple destroyed
Images to recognize this week
Passage
Image
What it means
1:11–12
Almond rod
A Hebrew wordplay: almond is shaqed, "watching" is shoqed. The almond blooms first in late winter, like a watchman; the Lord is watching to fulfill His word.
1:13–15
Boiling pot tipped from the north
Invasion will spill over Judah from the north, the route armies from Mesopotamia took into Canaan.
2:13
Fountain vs. broken cisterns
"Living water" means flowing spring water. Cisterns were hand-cut pits plastered to hold rainwater; a cracked one leaked dry. Israel traded a living source for one they built and that failed.
3:1–14
Unfaithful wife
Covenant as marriage. Idolatry is pictured as adultery, yet the Lord still pleads "return… for I am married unto you" (3:14).
7:4, 11
"The temple of the LORD" / "den of robbers"
People treated the temple as a guarantee of safety while ignoring justice. Jesus quotes 7:11 when He cleanses the temple (Matthew 21:13).
7:12
Shiloh
The earlier sanctuary where the ark once stood, long since in ruins. A holy place does not protect an unholy people.
16:16
Fishers and hunters
The Lord will search out scattered Israel. President Nelson has applied this to latter-day missionary work and the gathering.
17:5–8
Desert shrub vs. tree by the river
Trust in man versus trust in the Lord. Closely parallels Psalm 1.
18:1–10
Potter and clay
A marred vessel is reshaped while the clay is still soft. Verses 7–10 add that prophecies of judgment or blessing can change as people change.
20:9
Fire shut up in the bones
Jeremiah tries to stop speaking and can't. A window into what a prophetic calling felt like to the one carrying it.
Book of Mormon connections
1 Nephi 1:4 — Lehi's call comes during the same years, when "many prophets" were warning Jerusalem.
1 Nephi 5:13 — The brass plates included prophecies "spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah."
1 Nephi 7:14 — Nephi knows Jeremiah has been cast into prison.
Helaman 8:20 — Nephi son of Helaman names Jeremiah as a witness of Jerusalem's destruction.
Compare Jeremiah 1 with Lehi's call in 1 Nephi 1: both see a vision, are given a message of destruction, and are rejected.
Questions for the week
Jeremiah said "I am a child" (1:6). What did the Lord promise instead of removing his weakness?
What "cisterns" do people build today that can't hold water (2:13)?
What made the people feel safe in chapter 7, and why was that false security?
Where in your life is the clay still soft enough to be reshaped (18:4)?
When have you felt a truth like "fire shut up in my bones" (20:9)?
Conference talks & Church resources
Talks and articles that teach from this week's chapters. All links open on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Scholarly papers
Peer-reviewed and faithful scholarship from BYU and related publishers, matched to the chapters it discusses.
Podcasts & video
Weekly Come, Follow Me shows and episodes covering Jeremiah 1–20.