Bible/Jeremiah/1

Jeremiah 1:6

1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. ordained: Heb. gave
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

KJV

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Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”

Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. ¶

1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

What does Jeremiah 1:6 mean?

Jeremiah 1:6 is a verse in the book of Jeremiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אָמַר (ʼâmar), אֲהָהּ (ʼăhâhh), אֲדֹנָי (ʼĂdônây). It connects to 28 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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Then
saidאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
I,
Ah,אֲהָהּʼăhâhh/a-haw'/H162Oh!
LordאֲדֹנָיʼĂdônây/ad-o-noy'/H136the Lord (used as a proper name of God only)
GOD!יְהֹוִהYᵉhôvih/yeh-ho-vee'/H3069{YHWH}
behold,
I
cannotיָדַעyâdaʻ/yaw-dah'/H3045to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.)
speak:דָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue
for
I
am
a
child.נַעַרnaʻar/nah'-ar/H5288(concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescence; by implication, a servant; also (by interch. of sex), a girl (of similar latitude in age)

Commentary on Jeremiah 1:6

HENRY_FULL · Jeremiah 1:6
ect that all they say should be regarded as an oracle and a law, and that none should dare to contradict them, but every sheaf bow to theirs; this humour is fed by flatterers, who, because (like Jezebel's prophets) they are fed at their table, cry up their wisdom. 2. Those that are poor often prove themselves wiser than they: A poor man, who has taken pains to get wisdom, having no other way (as the rich man has) to get a reputation, searches him out, and makes it to appear that he is not such a scholar, nor such a politician, as he is taken to be. See how variously God dispenses his gifts; to some he gives wealth, to others wisdom, and it is easy to say which of these is the better gift, which we should covet more earnestly. 12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden. Note, 1. The comfort of the people of God is the honour of the nation in which they live. There is a great glory dwelling in the

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 3:12

And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Genesis 3:13

And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Genesis 4:9

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

Exodus 10:16

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you. called: Heb. hastened to call

Exodus 10:17

Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.

1 Samuel 15:13

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

1 Samuel 15:24

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

1 Samuel 15:30

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God.

1 Kings 8:47

Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; bethink: Heb. bring back to their heart

Job 31:33Job 33:27Psalms 32:3Psalms 51:1Psalms 51:10Jeremiah 2:22Jeremiah 2:23Jeremiah 3:12Jeremiah 3:13Jeremiah 10:12Jeremiah 17:9Daniel 9:20Matthew 3:6Matthew 23:25Matthew 27:4Matthew 27:5Luke 15:18Acts 26:201 John 1:8

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Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Jeremiah 1:6.

Genesis 15:8

And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

Joshua 7:7

And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

Judges 6:22

And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.

1 Kings 2:26

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thine own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. worthy: Heb. a man of death

1 Kings 8:53

For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.

2 Samuel 7:18

Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?

2 Samuel 7:19

And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? manner: Heb. law

2 Samuel 7:20

And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant.

Frequently asked questions

What does Jeremiah 1:6 say?

Jeremiah 1:6 (King James Version) reads: "Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child."

Is Jeremiah 1:6 in the Old or New Testament?

Jeremiah 1:6 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah.

Reflect

As you read Jeremiah 1:6, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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