Jeremiah 1:17

Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Jeremiah at the moment of his prophetic commissioning, immediately following a declaration of coming judgment on Judah’s idolatry. The command prepares the prophet for direct confrontation with the nation’s leaders and populace.

The words — תֶּאְזֹר (te'.Zor) means "you will gird" and מָתְנֶ֔י/ךָ (ma.te.Nei./kha) means "your loins," together forming the idiom for preparing for urgent action. וְ/קַמְתָּ֙ (ve./kam.Ta) translates as "and you will arise," signaling immediate physical and spiritual readiness to deliver the message.

The thread — The girding imagery appears in 1 Kings 18:46 where Elijah tucks his cloak to run, and echoes the readiness motif in Luke 12:35. The theme of divine preparation for confrontation continues in Jeremiah 1:18 with the metaphor of a fortified city and iron pillar.

Why it lands — The text commands immediate obedience and fearless delivery of every divine instruction without intimidation. It demands that the reader recognize prophetic authority rests on God’s command rather than personal courage or rhetorical skill.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְאַתָּה֙ve./'a.Tahand/ you תֶּאְזֹ֣רte'.Zoryou will gird מָתְנֶ֔יךָma.te.Nei./khaloins/ your וְקַמְתָּ֙ve./kam.Taand/ you will arise וְדִבַּרְתָּ֣ve./di.bar.Taand/ you will say אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם'a.lei./Hemto/ them אֵ֛ת'et<obj.>כָּל־kol-all אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherthat אָנֹכִ֖י'a.no.KhiI אֲצַוֶּ֑ךָּ'a.tza.Ve./kaI will command/ you אַל־'al-may not תֵּחַת֙te.Chatyou be dismayed מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔םmi./pe.nei./Hem<from>/ because of/ them פֶּֽן־pen-lest אֲחִתְּךָ֖'a.chi.te./KhaI should make dismayed/ you לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃li/f.nei./Hem<to>/ before/ them

King James Version

Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.

Cross-references

1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah, and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Jeremiah 1:7 But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.
Luke 12:35 Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.
1 Peter 1:13 Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 3:14 So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
Exodus 7:2 You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.
Jeremiah 23:28 Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
Job 38:3 Now brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall inform Me.
Ezekiel 3:10 “Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.
Exodus 3:12 “I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will worship God on this mountain.”