Jeremiah 1:8 (DRB)

Passage

Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Nearby Context

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.

Jeremiah 1:8 Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah 1:9 And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:

Jeremiah 1:10 Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "afraid", "presence", "thee", "deliver", "saith", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "afraid" and "presence", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "And the Lord said to me Say..." into verse 9's "And the Lord put forth his hand...", so "afraid" and "presence" 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 "afraid" and "presence" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.