Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 1:3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jeremiah 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.

Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

Jeremiah 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "before", "formed", "thee", "belly", "knew", and "thou". 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 "Then the word of the LORD came..." into verse 6's "Then said I Ah Lord GOD behold...", 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.