Jeremiah 1:17 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 1:17
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.
(intensively) to constitute · verb, piel imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
dismayed
תֵּחַת֙te.Chat
H2865
properly · verb, niphal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
faces
מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔םmi.pe.nei.Hem
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
confound
אֲחִתְּךָ֖'a.chi.te.Kha
H2865
properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
before
לִפְנֵיהֶֽםlif.nei.Hem
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Kings 18:46 And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Jeremiah 1:7-8 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt…
Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Je…
Ezekiel 3:14-18 So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon m…
Exodus 7:2 Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his lan…
Jeremiah 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wh…
Job 38:3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 1:11–end
Here, I. God gives Jeremiah, in vision, a view of the principal errand he was to go upon, which was to foretel the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, for their sins, especially their idolatry. This was at first represented to him in a way proper to make an impression upon him, that he might have it upon his heart in all his dealings with this people.
1. He intimates to him that the people were ripening apace for ruin and that ruin was hastening apace towards them. God, having answered his objection, that he was a child, goes on to initiate him in the prophetical learning and language; and, having promised to enable him to speak intelligibly to the people, he here teaches hi…
gird . . . loins--resolutely prepare for thy appointed task. Metaphor from the flowing robes worn in the East, which have to be girt up with a girdle, so as not to incommode one, when undertaking any active work (Job 38:3; Luk 12:35; Pe1 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).
John Gill on Jeremiah 1:17
Thou therefore gird up thy loins,.... The loins both of his mind and body. The allusion is to the custom of the eastern countries in wearing long garments, who, when they went about business, girt them about them for quicker dispatch; and here it designs haste and expedition in doing the Lord's work, as well as courage and resolution of mind:
and arise; and go from Anathoth to Jerusalem:
and speak unto them all that I command thee; See Gill on Jeremiah 1:7,
be not dismayed at their faces; See Gill on Jeremiah 1:8,
lest I confound thee before them; show resentment at him in some way or another, which would make him ashamed before them. The Septuagint and Arabic versions add, "for I am wit…
(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. Therefore, whoever is going to speak the words of God must gird up his loins, knowing that all the power of the devil is in the loins (Job 40); and let the righteous man say in the Psalms: My loins are filled with illusions (Psalm 37:8). And when he has girded his loins, let him hear what is written: Arise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead: and Christ shall enlighten you (Ephesians 5:14); that being always vigilant and rising from sleep, he may speak the things that God has commanded him. Do not be afraid of their face: for I will not make their appearance fearful to you. Whether as the Septuagint and other interpreters have: lest I make you afraid. And the sense is according to our translation: Do not be afraid of their face: for with me as your helper, you will not be able to fear them. According to the Septuagint: Do not be afraid of their face, have the confidence of my command. For if you do not offer what you have, in order to stop being afraid, I will abandon you and deliver you to fear, and in a way it will seem that I make you afraid while I abandon you to fear. But this signifies that truth should always be loved: and the multitude of men should not be feared, who, when rebuked, do not endure it; but they lay snares for the one who rebukes them. And what follows in the Septuagint: 'For I am with you to deliver you,' says the Lord, is not found in the Hebrew. And the meaning is: I will deliver you, not so that no one lays snares for you; but so that, enduring the snares, you do not transgress.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Jeremiah · . — .
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Jeremiah 1:17
Jeremiah 1:17
17. 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.
17. Et tu accinge lumbos tuos et surge, et loquere ad ipsos quaecunque (vel, omnia quae) ego mandavero tibi; ne timeas a facie ipsorum, ne to conteram (vel, timere faciam) a facie ipsorum (est enim verbum sumptum ex eadem radice.)
God first bids his Prophet to be the herald of the dreadful judgment, which we have already noticed: for it was not his purpose to speak only as it were in a corner, or secretly, to Jeremiah, but he committed to him what he intended should be proclaimed audibly to the whole people. It hence…
The interpretation of the symbols is followed by a charge to Jeremiah to address himself stoutly to his duties, and to discharge them fearlessly, together with still further and fuller assurance of powerful divine assistance.
"But thou, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee: be not dismayed before them, lest I dismay thee before them. Jer 1:18. And I, behold I make thee this day a strong city, an iron pillar, a brazen wall against the whole land, the kings of Judah its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. Jer 1:19. They shall strive against thee, but not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith Jahveh, to save thee." To gird up the loins,…
Jeremiah was afraid of looking foolish as the Lord’s messenger (see Jeremiah Book Introduction, “Literary Features: The Messenger System”). In reality, it would be foolish of Jeremiah to refuse to do as God commanded.
Rashi on Jeremiah 1:17
And you shall gird your loins This is an expression of quickening like a man of valor.
