3. The Lord also spoke to him when Jehoiakim son of Josiah ruled over Judah, and he continued to speak to him until the fifth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah son of Josiah ruled over Judah. That was when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile.
4. The Lord said to me,
5. “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb I chose you.Before you were born I set you apart.I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6. I answered, “Oh, Lord God, I really do not know how to speak well enough for that, for I am too young.”
7. The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you.
8. Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, for I will be with you to protect you,” says the Lord.