“Gird up your loins” is a Hebrew idiom for “get ready for action” (cf. 1 Kgs. 18:46; 2 Kgs. 4:29; 9:1; Eph. 6:14; 1 Pet. 1:13), which would be similar to our “roll up your sleeves.”
“Girding up his loins” meant to pull one’s robe through the legs to the front and tuck it into the sash, thereby forming tight-fitting shorts, ready for action. This is not the only preparatory action the prophet Jeremiah was told to do.
- arise — Qal PERFECT with waw, BDB 877, KB 1086
- speak — Piel PERFECT with waw, BDB 180, KB 210
- do not be dismayed — Qal IMPERFECT NEGATED (BDB 369, KB 365) used in a JUSSIVE sense