Jeremiah 1:6-8

1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, 1  I really 2  do not know how to speak well enough for that, 3  for I am too young.” 4  1:7 The Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ But go 5  to whomever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 1:8 Do not be afraid of those to whom I send you, 6  for I will be with you to protect 7  you,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:18-19

1:18 I, the Lord, 8  hereby promise to make you 9  as strong as a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall. You will be able to stand up against all who live in 10  the land, including the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and all the people of the land. 1:19 They will attack you but they will not be able to overcome you, for I will be with you to rescue you,” says the Lord.

1 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.”

sn The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for “God” for the proper name Yahweh in this compound name. See the study note on v. 2 for the substitution of “Lord” in a similar kind of situation.

2 tn Heb “Behold, I do not know how to speak.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold”) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).

3 tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.

4 tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.

5 tn Or “For you must go and say.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is likely adversative here after a negative statement (cf. BDB 474 s.v. כִּי 3.e). The Lord is probably not giving a rationale for the denial of Jeremiah’s objection but redirecting his focus, i.e., “do not say…but go…and say.”

6 tn Heb “be afraid of them.” The antecedent is the “whomever” in v. 7.

7 tn Heb “rescue.”

8 tn See the note on “Jeremiah” at the beginning of v. 17.

9 tn Heb “today I have made you.” The Hebrew verb form here emphasizes the certainty of a yet future act; the Lord is promising to protect Jeremiah from any future attacks which may result from his faithfully carrying out his commission. See a similar use of the same Hebrew verb tense in v. 9, and see the translator’s note there.

10 tn Heb “I make you a fortified city…against all the land….” The words “as strong as” and “so you will be able to stand against all the people of…” are given to clarify the meaning of the metaphor.