Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Child - the same word is translated "young man," 2 Samuel 18:5. From the long duration of his office, from Josiah's time until at least the passing of the Jewish remnant into Egypt after the capture of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 1:2-3; Jeremiah 40:1, etc.; 43:8, etc.), it is supposed he was at his call at least under 25 years of age. The reluctance often shown by inspired ministers of God (as Moses, Exodus 4:10; Exodus 6:12; Exodus 6:30; Jonah, Jonah 1:3) to accept the call, shows that they did not assume the office under the impulse of self-deceiving fanaticism, as false prophets often did.