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

28Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above will grow dark. I have spoken, I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back.” 29Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left. And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain; your lovers despise you; they want to take your life. 31For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child— the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints 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

• And youאַתְּ'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(f.s.)H859
• O devastatedשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• oneמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• what will you doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• thoughכִּיkîy · forH3588
• you dressלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• yourself in scarletשָׁנִיshânîy · scarletH8144
• you adornעָדָה‛âdâh · to adornH5710
• yourself with goldזָהָבzâhâb · goldH2091
• jewelryעֲדִי‛ădîy · ornamentH5716
• you enlargeקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
• your eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• with paintפּוּךְpûk · antimonyH6320
• You adorn yourselfיָפָהyâphâh · be beautifulH3302
• in vainשָׁוְאshâv' shav · vanity: vainH7723
• your loversעָגַב‛âgab · to lustH5689
• despiseמָאַסmâ'as · to rejectH3988
• they want to takeבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• your lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:30

• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
• Jeremiah 13:21What will you say when He sets over you close allies whom you yourself trained? Will not pangs of anguish grip you, as they do a woman in labor?
• Isaiah 10:3What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
• Isaiah 20:6And on that day the dwellers of this coastland will say, ‘See what has happened to our source of hope, those to whom we fled for help and deliverance from the king of Assyria! How then can we escape?’”
• Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
• Hebrews 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
• Ezekiel 23:40Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
• Ezekiel 28:9Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who slay you? You will be only a man, not a god, in the hands of those who wound you.
• Revelation 17:4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
• 2 Kings 9:30Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
• Jeremiah 22:20Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.
• Lamentations 1:2She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
• Lamentations 4:17All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for help. We watched from our towers for a nation that could not save us.
• Ezekiel 16:36This is what the Lord GOD says: Because you poured out your wealth and exposed your nakedness in your promiscuity with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them,
• Ezekiel 23:9Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
• Revelation 17:2The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were 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