Jeremiah 1:17

17 Therefore gird [up] thou thy loins, and rise thou (up), and speak to them all things which I command to thee; dread thou not of the face of them, for I shall not make thee for to dread the cheer of them. (And so gird thou up thy loins, and rise thou up, and say to them all the things which I command thee; fear thou not to go before them, or else I shall truly make thee afraid when thou art 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 lo! I shall call together all the nations of [the] realms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and set each man his seat in the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all the walls thereof in compass, and on all the cities of Judah. (For lo! I shall call together all the nations of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and each king shall set up his throne before the gates of Jerusalem, and against the walls all around it, and in all the cities of Judah.)

16 And I shall speak my dooms with them on all the malice of them, that forsook me, and made sacrifice to alien gods, and worshipped the work of their hands. (And I shall tell out my judgement of them, for all the malice of those who have deserted me, and made sacrifice to strange, or foreign, gods, and who worshipped the work of their own hands.)

17 Therefore gird [up] thou thy loins, and rise thou (up), and speak to them all things which I command to thee; dread thou not of the face of them, for I shall not make thee for to dread the cheer of them. (And so gird thou up thy loins, and rise thou up, and say to them all the things which I command thee; fear thou not to go before them, or else I shall truly make thee afraid when thou art before them.)

18 For I gave thee today into a strong city, and into an iron pillar, and into a brazen wall, on all the land, to the kings of Judah, and to the princes thereof, and to the priests thereof, and to all the people of the land. (For I have made thee this day like a strong city, and like an iron pillar, and like a bronze wall, to stand against all the land, yea, against the kings of Judah, and its princes, or its leaders, and its priests, and all the people of the land.)

19 And they shall fight against thee, and they shall not have the mastery; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, that I deliver thee. (And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not have the mastery; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, and I shall keep thee safe.)