“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
- KJV Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
- NKJV Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
- NASB Then I said, “Oh, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.”
- NLT “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah objects that he is too young and unable to speak. His reluctance reveals honest human weakness.
Overview
Like Moses before him, Jeremiah protests his inadequacy, pleading youth and inability. His hesitation shows that God's calling often meets human fear and self-doubt. Yet such weakness becomes the stage on which God's strength is displayed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Exod 4:10–16“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Exod 6:12But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”
- Jer 32:17“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- 1 Kgs 3:7–9And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.
- Exod 6:30But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?”
- Exod 4:1Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
- Jer 14:13“Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”
- Jer 4:10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, how completely You have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’ while a sword is at our throats.”
- Isa 6:5Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 1:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.