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.

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.

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.

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. Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah 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, i.e., to fasten or tuck up with the girdle the long wide garment, in order to make oneself fit and ready for labour, for a journey, or a race (Exodus 12:11; 1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 4:29; 2 Kings 9:1), or for battle (Job 38:3; Job 40:7). Meaning: equip thyself and arise to preach my words to the inhabitants of the land. In 'אל־תּחת and ' אחתּך לthere is a play on words. The Niph. sig. broken in spirit by terror and anxiety; the Hiph. to throw into terror and anguish. If Jeremiah appears before his adversaries in terror, then he will have cause to be terrified for them; only if by unshaken confidence in the power of the word he preaches in the name of the Lord, will he be able to accomplish anything. Such confidence he has reason to cherish, for God will furnish him with the strength necessary for making a stand, will make him strong and not to be vanquished. This is the meaning of the pictorial statement in Jeremiah 1:18. A strong city resists the assaults of the foes; the storm cannot shatter an iron pillar; and walls of brass defy the enemy's missiles. Instead of the plural חמות, the parallel passage Jeremiah 15:20 has the sing. חומת, the plural being used as frequently as the singular to indicate the wall encircling the city; cf. 2 Kings 25:10 with 1 Kings 3:1; Nehemiah 2:13; Nehemiah 4:1 with Nehemiah 1:3, and Nehemiah 2:17; Nehemiah 4:10. With such invincible power will God equip His prophet "against the whole land," i.e., so that he will be able to hold his own against the whole land. The mention of the component parts of "all the land," i.e., the several classes of the population, is introduced by למלכי, so that "the kings," etc., is to be taken as an apposition to "against all the land." Kings in the plural are mentioned, because the prophet's labours are to extend over several reigns. שׂרים are the chiefs of the people, the heads of families and clans, and officers, civil and military. "The people of the land" is the rest of the population not included in these three classes, elsewhere called men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Jeremiah 17:25; Jeremiah 32:32, and frequently. אליך for עליך; so in Jeremiah 15:20, and often. With the promise in Jeremiah 15:19, cf. Jeremiah 1:8.

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

(q) Which declares that God's vengeance is prepared against them who do not execute their duty faithfully, either for fear of man, or for any other reason, 1Co 9:16.

1:17 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. Consume thee - Lest I destroy thee even in their sight, to become their reproach.

confound: or, break to pieces

17. 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; Lu 12:35; 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).

1:11-19 God gave Jeremiah a view of the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. The almond-tree, which is more forward in the spring than any other, represented the speedy approach of judgments. God also showed whence the intended ruin should arise. Jeremiah saw a seething-pot boiling, representing Jerusalem and Judah in great commotion. The mouth or face of the furnace or hearth, was toward the north; from whence the fire and fuel were to come. The northern powers shall unite. The cause of these judgments was the sin of Judah. The whole counsel of God must be declared. The fear of God is the best remedy against the fear of man. Better to have all men our enemies than God our enemy; those who are sure they have God with them, need not, ought not to fear, whoever is against them. Let us pray that we may be willing to give up personal interests, and that nothing may move us from our duty.