₄The LORD said to me, ₅“I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations.”

₆I answered, “Sovereign LORD, I don't know how to speak; I am too young.”

₇But the LORD said to me, “Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. ₈Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

₉Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my lips, and said to me, “Listen, I am giving you the words you must speak. ₁₀Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”