Gird up thy loins. — Be as the messenger who prepares to be swift on his errand, and to go whithersoever he is sent (1 Kings 18:46; 2 Kings 4:29; 2 Kings 9:1). The vivid image of intense activity re-appears in the New Testament (Luke 12:35; 1 Peter 1:13), and has become proverbial in the speech of Christendom.
Be not dismayed. — The repeated calls to courage appear to indicate — like St. Paul’s exhortations to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:13; 2 Timothy 2:3) — a constitutional timidity. We must remember, as some excuse for this, that the reign of Manasseh had shown that the work of the prophet might easily lead to the fate of the martyr (2 Kings 21:16). Even Ezekiel, among the remnant of exiles on the banks of Chebar, needed a like encouragement (Ezekiel 2:6).
Lest I confound thee. — The Hebrew emphasises the command by repeating the same words: Be not dismayed, lest I dismay thee.