Jeremiah is book 24 of the 39 books of the Old Testament and belongs to the Major Prophets section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- Old Testament · Major Prophets
- Genre
- Prophecy: oracles, poetry, biography and laments
- Author (traditional)
- Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, a priest from Anathoth, with his scribe Baruch writing down his words (Jeremiah 36).
- Other views on authorship
- Most scholars see a core of Jeremiah's own oracles, collected and expanded by Baruch and later editors during the exile. The Greek version of the book is shorter and arranged differently, showing it circulated in more than one edition.
- Date (traditional)
- About 627–580 BC, from the 13th year of King Josiah to the aftermath of Jerusalem's fall.
- Other views on dating
- Jeremiah's ministry about 627–585 BC, with the book reaching its final forms during and after the exile in the 6th century BC.
- Chapters
- 52
- Verses
- 1,364
- Reading time
- About 198 minutes (39,557 words in the BSB)
What is Jeremiah about?
Jeremiah was called as a young man and spoke through the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah, the last kings of Judah. His message was unpopular: the temple would not save a city full of idolatry and injustice, and Babylon was God's instrument of judgment. He told the people to surrender and even wrote to the exiles telling them to settle down and seek the welfare of Babylon.
The book is not arranged in strict time order. Poetic oracles sit beside prose sermons, personal stories and Jeremiah's raw complaints to God, sometimes called his confessions. We see him bury a linen belt until it is ruined, smash a clay jar, wear an ox yoke and buy a field while the city is under siege, acting out his messages.
Amid the gloom, chapters 30–33, often called the Book of Consolation, promise restoration and a new covenant. The book closes with oracles against the nations and a historical account of Jerusalem's fall, ending with the exiled king Jehoiachin released from prison: a small sign of hope.
Outline of Jeremiah
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremiah's call God appoints him before birth to be a prophet to the nations. |
| 2–20 | Warnings to Judah Unfaithfulness, the temple sermon, symbolic acts and Jeremiah's personal laments. |
| 21–29 | Kings, false prophets and exile Messages to Judah's kings, seventy years of exile, and the letter to the exiles. |
| 30–33 | The Book of Consolation Restoration, the new covenant, and Jeremiah buying a field as a sign of hope. |
| 34–45 | Jeremiah's sufferings and Jerusalem's fall Scroll burned, Jeremiah jailed and thrown in a cistern, the city falls, flight to Egypt. |
| 46–51 | Oracles against the nations Egypt, Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Elam and finally Babylon. |
| 52 | Historical appendix The fall of Jerusalem retold and Jehoiachin released in Babylon. |
Key themes
- Covenant unfaithfulness. Jeremiah compares Judah to an unfaithful bride who has left a spring of living water for cracked cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13).
- False security. People trusted the temple, rituals and comforting prophets. Jeremiah insists that only real repentance and justice matter.
- The prophet's suffering. Jeremiah weeps, argues with God and wishes he had never been born, giving readers honest words for faith under pressure.
- Hope beyond judgment. God's plans for the exiles are for welfare and a future (see Jeremiah 29:11), spoken to people facing seventy years away from home.
- The new covenant. God promises to write his law on hearts and forgive sin (Jeremiah 31:31–34), a passage quoted at length in Hebrews.
Key people and places
- Jeremiah — The 'weeping prophet', called as a youth.
- Baruch — Jeremiah's scribe and loyal friend.
- Josiah — Reforming king during Jeremiah's early ministry.
- Jehoiakim — King who cut up and burned Jeremiah's scroll.
- Zedekiah — Last king of Judah, who consulted Jeremiah in secret.
- Nebuchadnezzar — King of Babylon who destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.
- Ebed-melech — Cushite official who rescued Jeremiah from the cistern.
Places: Anathoth, Jerusalem, the temple, Babylon, Egypt.
Key verses in Jeremiah
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.””
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”
““But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
““Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!”
How Jeremiah fits the big story
Jeremiah lived through the end of the kingdom of Judah described in 2 Kings. His grief over the ruined city echoes in Lamentations, traditionally linked to him. His prophecy of seventy years in exile frames the hopes of Daniel (Daniel 9) and the return in Ezra. His promise of a new covenant becomes central for the New Testament: Jesus speaks of the new covenant in his blood at the Last Supper, and Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31 as fulfilled in him.
How to read Jeremiah
At 3 chapters a day you can read Jeremiah in 18 days. Because the book is not chronological, use the chapter outline as a map. Start with chapters 1, 7, 18–20, 29 and 31 to meet the prophet and his central message.