Jeremiah 1:17

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.

a. 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.

b. YLT: 'And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them.

c. Classic Amplified: But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins! Arise and tell them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed and break down at the sight of their faces, lest I confound you before them and permit you to be overcome.

d. Septuagint: And do thou gird up thy loins, and stand up, and speak all [the words] that I shall command thee: be not afraid of their face, neither be thou alarmed before them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: As for you, you shall gird your loins, and get up and speak to them all that I command you; do not be frightened of them; lest i let you be broken before them.

1. “Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise…”

a. Thou [therefore] [Strong: 859 'attah at-taw' or (shortened); aatta {at-taw'}; or wath {ath}; feminine (irregular) sometimes nattiy {at-tee'}; plural masculine attem {at- tem'}; feminine atten {at-ten'}; or oattenah {at-tay'naw}; or fattennah {at-tane'-naw}; a primitive pronoun of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you:--thee, thou, ye, you.]

b. gird [up] [Strong: 247 ʼâzar, aw-zar'; a primitive root; to belt:—bind (compass) about, gird (up, with).]

c. [thy] loins [Strong: 4975 môthen, mo'-then; from an unused root meaning to be slender; properly, the waist or small of the back; only in plural the loins:— greyhound, loins, side.]

1). The phrase “gird up your loins” is used in a few places in the Old Testament. The two most notable are in Exodus and 1 Kings. 

a). Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.

(1) It is used here to show God commanded His people to be ready at a moments notice. The use of the phrase in 1 Peter 1:13 suggest that we must be ready also. [Compare 2 Timothy 4:2].

(2) We must remember that Jesus is our Passover, 1 Corinthians 5:7.

b). 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.

(1) The distance between Mt. Carmel and Jezreel is about 25 miles. Elijah ran the whole way because the hand of the LORD was upon him. It was a supernatural marathon.

2). The Apostle Paul included having our lions girded in reference to the armor of God that the Lord provides for us in order to live the victorious Christian life.

a). Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

(1) As believers, we need to gird or wrap the truth of the word of God around our minds. This phrase, “gird up the loins of your mind” is no doubt another way to exhort us to meditate the Scriptures, in order to strengthen our minds. When we gird ourselves we wrap something around us, such as a belt, it is to strengthen us. Peter is speaking of our minds, Peter is exhorting us to wrap and strengthen our minds. We are to strengthen and gird our minds with the word of God because as we shall see, it is from revelation knowledge through meditation that the empowering grace comes to us.

d. [and] arise [Strong: 6965 qûwm, koom; a primitive root; to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative):—abide, accomplish, × be clearer, confirm, continue, decree, × be dim, endure, × enemy, enjoin, get up, make good, help, hold, (help to) lift up (again), make, × but newly, ordain, perform, pitch, raise (up), rear (up), remain, (a-) rise (up) (again, against), rouse up, set (up), (e-) stablish, (make to) stand (up), stir up, strengthen, succeed, (as-, make) sure(-ly), (be) up(-hold, -rising).]

2. “...and speak unto them all that I command thee…”

a. [and] speak [Strong: 1696 dâbar, daw-bar'; a primitive root; perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue:—answer, appoint, bid, command, commune, declare, destroy, give, name, promise, pronounce, rehearse, say, speak, be spokesman, subdue, talk, teach, tell, think, use (entreaties), utter, × well, × work.]

b. unto [them] [Strong: 413 'el ale (but only used in the shortened constructive form sel {el}); a primitive particle; properly, denoting motion towards, but occasionally used of a quiescent position, i.e. near, with or among; often in general, to:--about, according to ,after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, X hath, in(- to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).]

c. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

d. all [Strong: 3605 kol kole or (Jer. 33:8) kowl {kole}; from 3634; properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense):--(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-)thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).]

e. that [Strong: 834 'aher ash-er' a primitive relative pronoun (of every gender and number); who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.:--X after, X alike, as (soon as), because, X every, for, + forasmuch, + from whence, + how(-soever), X if, (so) that ((thing) which, wherein), X though, + until, + whatsoever, when, where (+ -as, -in, -of, -on, -soever, -with), which, whilst, + whither(- soever), who(-m, -soever, -se). As it is indeclinable, it is often accompanied by the personal pronoun expletively, used to show the connection.]

f. I [Strong: 595 'anokiy aw-no-kee' sometimes {aw-no'-kee}; a primitive pro.; I:--I, me, X which.]

g. command [thee] [Strong: 6680 tsâvâh, tsaw-vaw'; a primitive root; (intensively) to constitute, enjoin:—appoint, (for-) bid, (give a) charge, (give a, give in, send with) command(-er, -ment), send a messenger, put, (set) in order.]

3.  “...be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.”

a. [be] not [Strong: 408 'al al a negative particle (akin to 3808); not (the qualified negation, used as a deprecative); once (Job 24:25) as a noun, nothing:--nay, neither, + never, no ,nor, not, nothing (worth), rather than.]

b. dismayed [Strong: 2865 châthath, khaw-thath'; a primitive root; properly, to prostrate; hence, to break down, either (literally) by violence, or (figuratively) by confusion and fear:—abolish, affright, be (make) afraid, amaze, beat down, discourage, (cause to) dismay, go down, scare, terrify.]

1). The revelation that God is with us is enough to dispel any fear of man.

a). Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

c. [at their] faces [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

d. lest [Strong: 6435 pen pane from 6437; properly, removal; used only (in the construction) adverb as conjunction, lest:--(lest) (peradventure), that...not.]

e. [I] confound [thee] [Strong: 2865  châthath, khaw-thath'; a primitive root; properly, to prostrate; hence, to break down, either (literally) by violence, or (figuratively) by confusion and fear:—abolish, affright, be (make) afraid, amaze, beat down, discourage, (cause to) dismay, go down, scare, terrify.]

f. before [them] [Strong: 6440 pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]