Jeremiah 1:17
in Jeremiah 1Get 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I dismay thee before them.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 17.) So gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. And Job is commanded to gird up his loins (Job 4); and to the Apostles (Luke 12), that with girded loins, which Elijah (2 Kings 1) and John the Baptist (Matthew 3) had mortified with haircloth belts, they may hold lamps in their hands, namely for the proclamation of the Gospel.
This site's exposition
Get yourself ready
on Jeremiah 1:17-19
The call closes with a promise of fortification, “like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land”. The opposition runs through every rank. The fight is certain: “They will fight against you but will never overcome you, since I am with you to deliver you”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Gird up - It is a speech taken from the custom of the countries where they wore long garments; and therefore they girt them up about them, that they might not hinder them in any work that required expedition.
He was of the priests, and, as a priest, was authorized and appointed to teach the people; but to that authority and appointment God added the extraordinary commission of a prophet. Ezekiel also was a priest. Thus God would support the honour of the priesthood at a time when, by their sins and God's judgments upon them, it was sadly eclipsed.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins,.... The loins both of his mind and body.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Gird up thy loins - A symbol of preparation for earnest exertion, and implying also firm purpose, and some degree of alacrit Be not dismayed ... - literally, “be not dismayed at their faces, lest I dismay thee before their faces.” Naturally despondent and self-distrustful, there was yet no feebleness in Jeremiah’s character. There was in him a moral superiority of the will, which made him, at any cost to himself, faithfully discharge whatever his conscience told him was his duty.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
1Pe 1:13). dismayed . . . confound--the same Hebrew word; literally, "to break." Be not dismayed at their faces (before them), lest I make thee dismayed before their faces (before them), that is, "lest I should permit thee to be overcome by them" (compare Jer 49:37).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Gird up thy loins - Take courage and be ready, lest I confound thee; take courage and be resolute, פן pen, lest by their opposition thou be terrified and confounded. God is often represented as doing or causing to be done, what he only permits or suffers to be done. Or, do not fear them, I will not suffer thee to be confounded. So Dahler, Ne crains pas que je te confonde a leurs yeux, “Do not fear that I shall confound thee before them.” It is well known that the phrase, gird up thy reins, is a metaphor taken from the long robes of the Asiatics; which, on going a journey, or performing their ordinary work, they were obliged to truss up under their girdles, that the motions of the body might not be impeded.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּה֙ | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| תֶּאְזֹ֣ר | te'zor | you will gird | H247 → | |
| מָתְנֶ֔יךָ | mateneikha | loins your | H4975 → | 47 times |
| וְקַמְתָּ֙ | vekamta | and you will arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְדִבַּרְתָּ֣ | vedibarta | and you will say | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲצַוֶּ֑ךָּ | ʾatzaveka | I will command you | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֵּחַת֙ | techat | you be dismayed | H2865 → | 52 times |
| מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם | mipeneihem | <from> because of them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פֶּֽן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| אֲחִתְּךָ֖ | ʾachitekha | I should make dismayed you | H2865 → | 52 times |
| לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃ | lifneihem | <to> before them | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וְאַתָּה֙and you
veatahH859 →1094 times
תֶּאְזֹ֣רyou will gird
te'zorH247 →
מָתְנֶ֔יךָloins your
mateneikhaH4975 →47 times
וְקַמְתָּ֙and you will arise
vekamtaH6965 →628 times
וְדִבַּרְתָּ֣and you will say
vedibartaH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲצַוֶּ֑ךָּI will command you
ʾatzavekaH6680 →494 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֵּחַת֙you be dismayed
techatH2865 →52 times
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם<from> because of them
mipeneihemH6440 →2123 times
פֶּֽן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
אֲחִתְּךָ֖I should make dismayed you
ʾachitekhaH2865 →52 times
לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃<to> before them
lifneihemH6440 →2123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 1:13Therefore 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.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- Luke 12:35
Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.
- 1 Peter 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.
- Hebrews 9:28
so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
- 1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and…
- 1 Peter 5:8
Through
Luke 12:35Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.
it leads to
- 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.
- Ephesians 6:14
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed,
- Matthew 25:4–10
But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
- 1 Peter 1:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.