[1][2] The original text of this chapter, as with the rest of the Book of Jeremiah, was written in Hebrew.

[8] The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:[9]This verse is an "editorial introduction" which is reasonably comprehensive as it contains the prophet's "name, family, status and place of origin," and more complete than most books of prophets.

[1] According to Judges 21:17–18, Anathoth was one of the levitical or priestly cities located within the land of the tribe of Benjamin, about 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

[2] The prophecies of Jeremiah and Amos (Amos 1:1) are attributed to them individually in the opening words of the relevant biblical books, while in other cases, such as Hosea 1:1, Joel 1:1 and Micah 1:1, their prophecies are described from the outset as "the word of the Lord".

[2] to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

2 Chronicles 34:3–7), one year before Jeremiah was called and about the same time Sinsharishkun took the throne of Assyria,[14] following the chaos after Ashurbanipal's death, as the Assyrian Empire rapidly diminished.

[8] Verses 4–10 contain the poetic audition in form of a dialogue between Jeremiah, speaking in the first person, and Yahweh (the LORD), whose words are written as quoted statements.

[23] "Ah" is rendered "Alas" in the Darby Translation and New International Version, and this Hebrew word in the opinion of biblical commentator A. W. Streane: "expresses not so much an entreaty that things should be arranged otherwise, as a lament that they are as they are".

[28] Verses 11–16 records the dialogue between Jeremiah, speaking in the first person, and Yahweh (the LORD), whose words are written as quoted statements.

[32]Israel's enemy "always comes from the north": the Jerusalem Bible notes that Ezekiel 26:7 and Joel 2:20 also express this point.

[33] In Zechariah's final vision after the exiles have returned to Jerusalem, he foresees "the pacifying of the north country".

[34][35] "For behold, I am calling All the families of the kingdoms of the north," says the Lord; "They shall come and each one set his throne At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, Against all its walls all around, And against all the cities of Judah.

"[36] The medieval Jewish commentator Rashi considered that this prophecy, "They shall come and each one set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem", was fulfilled as reported in Jeremiah 39:3: "All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat at the Middle Gate".

[38] Speaking directly using imperatives Yahweh prepares Jeremiah for the battle, that Jeremiah must announce everything in the face of opposition and he will prevail because Yahweh strengthens him as "a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall".