Jeremiah 1:5 (DRB)

Passage

Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 1:3 And which came to him in the days of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, unto the end of the eleventh year of Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.

Jeremiah 1:4 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jeremiah 1:6 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "formed", "thee", "bowels", "mother", and "knew". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "before" and "formed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And the word of the Lord came..." into verse 6's "And I said Ah ah ah Lord...", so "before" and "formed" belong inside that flow. In Jeremiah context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "before" and "formed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.