Jeremiah 1:17

17 But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them.

Jeremiah 1:17 Meaning and Commentary

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 with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord", as in ( Jeremiah 1:8 ) .

Jeremiah 1:17 In-Context

15 For now I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they shall come and all of them shall set their thrones at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah.
16 And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them.
18 And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall, against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land.
19 They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.