See note Jer. 1:18¹.

I.e., utter. Jehovah’s word concerning uttering precious things may indicate that He regarded some of Jeremiah’s speaking in the previous verses as worthless.

Verses 19-21 are Jehovah’s response to Jeremiah’s complaint (vv. 10-18). In His response He gave Jeremiah a further commission. The pronoun you here may be a further indication that God considered Jeremiah as being one with Israel (see vv. 13-14 and note Jer. 15:13^1a). Both Israel and Jeremiah, who was quite disappointed, needed to return to God in order to be restored by Him.

According to the entire revelation in the Holy Bible, God’s words are good for us to eat, and we need to eat them (Psa. 119:103; Matt. 4:4; Heb. 5:12-14; 1 Pet. 2:2-3). God’s word is the divine supply as food to nourish us. Through the word as our food, God dispenses His riches into our inner being to nourish us that we may be constituted with His element. This is a crucial aspect of God’s economy. When we eat God’s words, His word becomes our heart’s gladness and joy.

Cf. note Psa. 3:7¹.

The pronouns your and you in vv. 13-14, referring to both Israel and Jeremiah, indicate that God regarded Jeremiah the prophet as being one with Israel and that God considered the entire nation of Israel as one entity. Because Jeremiah was a part of this entity, when the wealth and treasures of Israel were given to their enemies, Jeremiah also became poor.

The word iron here refers to the Babylonians. God was assuring Jeremiah that He would use the Babylonians to punish Israel.

God was intending to judge the people of Israel, and He sent Jeremiah to tell them that He would use the Babylonians to punish them (vv. 12-13). They responded by persecuting Jeremiah (v. 15; 11:19; 18:18-23; 20:1-2, 7-10), and this caused him to be disappointed. As Jeremiah complained, God came in to speak to him for his encouragement and strengthening (v. 11). This indicates that God was always with Jeremiah. In His speaking to Jeremiah, God spoke not as the Divine Being, as the Mighty One, but almost as if He were a man, talking in a very human and personal way. According to the record of this book, as God dealt with His people, He often spoke to them in such a way (e.g., Jer. 2:1-37; 3:1-5, 3:12-25; 4:1-2; 16:10-18).

Verses 5-9 are a record of the punishing Jehovah’s sighing for His punished people. Again and again God had determined to punish Israel, but He had repented. Now He told Jeremiah that He was weary of repenting and would repent no more. This shows how evil Israel had become and how patient God had been with them.

See note 2 Kings 21:11^1a.