Jeremiah 4:30

Jeremiah 4:30 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
• New International Version (NIV)What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; Your lovers will despise you; They will seek your life.

Context of Jeremiah 4:30

28For this reason the earth shall mourn And the heavens above shall become dark, Because I have spoken, I have decided, And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.” 29Every city runs away at the sound of the horsemen and archers. They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is deserted, And no man lives in them. And you, O desolate one, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself in scarlet, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, You make yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers (allies) despise you; They seek your life. 31For I heard a cry like a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), who gasps for breath, Who stretches out her hands, saying, “Woe is me [my judgment comes]! I faint [in fear] before the murderers.”

Jeremiah 4:30 word by word

וְאַ֨תְּ שָׁד֜וּד מַֽה־תַּעֲשִׂ֗י כִּֽי־תִלְבְּשִׁ֨י שָׁנִ֜י כִּי־תַעְדִּ֣י עֲדִי־זָהָ֗ב כִּֽי־תִקְרְעִ֤י בַפּוּךְ֙ עֵינַ֔יִךְ לַשָּׁ֖וְא תִּתְיַפִּ֑י מָאֲסוּ־בָ֥ךְ עֹגְבִ֖ים נַפְשֵׁ֥ךְ יְבַקֵּֽשׁוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• spoiledשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• what wilt thou doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• Though thou clothestלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• thyself with crimsonשָׁנִיshânîy · scarletH8144
• though thou deckestעָדָה‛âdâh · to adornH5710
• thee with ornamentsעֲדִי‛ădîy · ornamentH5716
• of goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• though thou rentestקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• thy faceעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• with paintingפּוּךְpûk · antimonyH6320
• in vainשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: vainH7723
• shalt thou make thyself fairיָפָהyâphâh · be beautifulH3302
• loversעָגַב‛âgab · to lustH5689
• will despiseמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
• thee, they will seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• thy lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:30

• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love [to have] it so! But what will you do when the end comes?
• Jeremiah 13:21What will you say [O Jerusalem] when the Lord appoints [foreign nations to rule] over you— Those former friends and allies whom you have encouraged [to be your companions]— Will not pain seize you Like [that of] a woman in childbirth?
• Isaiah 10:3Now what will you do in the day of [God’s] punishment, And in the storm of devastation which will come from far away? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth [for safekeeping]?
• Isaiah 20:6So the inhabitants of this coastland [the Israelites and their neighbors] will say in that day, ‘Look what has happened to those in whom we hoped and trusted and to whom we fled for help to be spared from the king of Assyria! But we, how will we escape [captivity and exile]?’ ”
• Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. [They cry] “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
• Hebrews 2:3how will we escape [the penalty] if we ignore such a great salvation [the gospel, the new covenant]? For it was spoken at first by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us and proved authentic by those who personally heard [Him speak],
• Ezekiel 23:40“Furthermore, you have even sent a messenger for men to come from far away; and behold, they came—those for whom you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with ornaments;
• Ezekiel 28:9Will you still say, “I am a god,” In the presence of him who kills you? But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God, In the hands of those who wound and profane you.
• Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.
• 2 Kings 9:30So when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, and she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked down from the [upper] window.
• Jeremiah 22:20Go up [north] to Lebanon and cry out, And raise your voice in [the hills of] Bashan [across the Jordan]; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers (allies) have been destroyed.
• Lamentations 1:2She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks; Among all her lovers (political allies) She has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 4:17[And as for us,] yet our eyes failed, Looking in vain for help. Watching [from the towers] we watched For a nation that could not save.
• Ezekiel 16:36Thus says the Lord God, “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene immoralities with your lovers (pagan allies), and with all your [repulsive] idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to them,
• Ezekiel 23:9Therefore, I placed her in the hand of her lovers (allies), into the hand of the Assyrians whom she adored.
• Revelation 17:2she with whom the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality, and the inhabitants of the earth have become intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:30

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 30Though thou rentest thy face with painting - This probably refers to the custom of introducing stibium a preparation of antimony, between the eye and the lids, in order to produce a fine lustre, which occasions a distension of the eye-lid in the time of the operation. In order to heighten the effect from this some may have introduced a more than ordinary quantity, so as nearly to rend the eye-lid itself. Though thou make use of every means of address, of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 30Translate, And thou, O plundered one, what effectest thou, that “thou clothest thyself with” scarlet, that “thou deckest” thyself “with ornaments of gold,” that thou enlargest thine eyes with antimony (2 Kings 9:30 note)? “In vain” dost thou beautify thyself; “thy lovers” despise” thee, they” seek “thy life.” Jerusalem is represented as a woman who puts on her best attire to gain favor in the eyes of her lovers, but in vain.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 The prophet had no pleasure in delivering messages of wrath. He is shown in a vision the whole land in confusion. Compared with what it was, every thing is out of order; but the ruin of the Jewish nation would not be final. Every end of our comforts is not a full end. Though the Lord may correct his people very severely, yet he will not cast them off. Ornaments and false colouring would be of no avail. No outward privileges or profession, no…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 30Oddly, some people acted as if nothing serious was happening. They tried to ignore the enemy, but their future looked grim. The enemy would kill them (Jeremiah 22:20, 22; 2 Kings 9:30; Isaiah 22:13; Lamentations 1:2, 19; Ezekiel 23:9–10, 22, 40–42).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3030. when thou art spoiled--rather, "thou, O destroyed one" [Maurer]. rentest ... face with painting--Oriental women paint their eyes with stibium, or antimony, to make them look full and sparkling, the black margin causing the white of the eyes to appear the brighter by contrast (2Ki 9:30). He uses the term "distendest" in derision of their effort to make their eyes look large [Maurer]; or else, "rentest," that is, dost lacerate by puncturing the eyelid…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 4:30

• Condescension of God
• Cosmetics
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Painting
• War

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Colour
• Dress
• Eye
• Fallow
• Pain
• Paint
• Wise
• Backslide
• Color; Colors

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings