Jeremiah 1:9

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

Jeremiah 1:9 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 1:9

Then the Lord put forth his hand
Who, according to Kimchi, was the Angel that appeared to the prophet, and spoke in the name of the Lord to him, and is called by his name; but rather it was the Son of God, the true Jehovah, who appeared in a human form he assumed for the present, and put forth his hand: and touched my mouth;
just as one of the seraphim touched the mouth and lips of the Prophet Isaiah with a live coal from the altar, ( Isaiah 6:6 Isaiah 6:7 ) , by this symbol the prophet was inducted into his office; and it was suggested to him that his mouth was now sanctified to the Lord's use and service; and that what he should speak should not be his own words, but the words of the Lord; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

``and the Lord sent the words of his prophecy, and ordered them in my mouth;''

to which agrees what follows: and the Lord said unto me, behold, I have put my words in thy mouth;
which was signified by the preceding symbol; wherefore he might with great freedom and boldness deliver them out to others.

Jeremiah 1:9 In-Context

7 But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord.

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant."

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" And I said, "I see a branch of an almond tree."