Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Yahweh stretched out his hand, and touched my mouth. Then Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
- NASB Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
- NLT Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
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
God touches Jeremiah's mouth and puts His words there, equipping him to prophesy. The message is God's own, placed in the prophet.
Overview
By touching Jeremiah's mouth, Yahweh symbolically supplies the very words the prophet will speak. This act assures that Jeremiah's message carries divine authority, not mere human opinion. It illustrates the doctrine that Scripture is God-breathed, with God's words on the prophet's lips.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 21:15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
- Exod 4:11–12And the LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes the mute or the deaf, the sighted or the blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
- Luke 12:12For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”
- Isa 51:16I have put My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the heavens, to found the earth, and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
- Isa 50:4The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of discipleship, to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning; He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
- Matt 10:19But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.
- Jer 5:14Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts says: “Because you have spoken this word, I will make My words a fire in your mouth and this people the wood it consumes.
- Ezek 3:10“Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart.
- Exod 4:15–16You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.
- Isa 49:2He made My mouth like a sharp sword; He hid Me in the shadow of His hand. He made Me like a polished arrow; He hid Me in His quiver.
- Isa 6:6–7Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 1:9 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.