Jeremiah 1:16 (LSB)

Passage

I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Nearby Context

Jeremiah 1:14 Then Yahweh said to me, “From the north the evil will break open on all the inhabitants of the land.

Jeremiah 1:15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh; “and they will come, and each one of them will put his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah.

Jeremiah 1:16 I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jeremiah 1:17 Now, gird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them.

Jeremiah 1:18 Now behold, I have given you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests, and to the people of the land.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "speak", "judgments", "concerning", "evil", "whereby", "forsaken", "burned", and "incense". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "speak" and "judgments", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "For behold I am calling all the..." into verse 17's "Now gird up your loins and arise...", so "speak" and "judgments" 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 "speak" and "judgments" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.