Jeremiah 1:8 (KJV)

Passage

Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Nearby Context

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.

Jeremiah 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

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

Study Lenses

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

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