Jeremiah 1:2-3

Having given his name, and family, and place of abode, he now mentions his commission, and the time of receiving it. So that the whole period of the Prophet's ministry, like the contents of a book, is here marked in the first leaf of his writings. If the Reader will be at the pains of enquiry, he will find, that the whole period of Jeremiah's ministry was somewhat more than forty years.