Jeremiah 13:21

Jeremiah 13:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
• New International Version (NIV)What will you say when the Lord sets over you those you cultivated as your special allies? Will not pain grip you like that of a woman in labor?
• English Standard Version (ESV)What will you say when they set as head over you those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you? Will not pangs take hold of you like those of a woman in labor?
• New King James Version (NKJV)What will you say when He punishes you? For you have taught them To be chieftains, to be head over you. Will not pangs seize you, Like a woman in labor?

Context of Jeremiah 13:21

19The cities in the Negev will be locked up, and there will be no one to reopen them. All the people of Judah will be taken away into captivity. 20Look up, and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you—your beautiful sheep? What will you say when God makes the people you thought were your friends your new masters? Won’t pain grip you like a woman in labor? 22If you ask yourself, “Why do these things happen to me?” it’s because you have so many sins. Your clothes have been torn off and your limbs are bare. 23Can Ethiopians change the color of their skin or leopards change their spots? Can you do good when you’re taught to do wrong?

Jeremiah 13:21 word by word

מַה־תֹּֽאמְרִי֙ כִּֽי־יִפְקֹ֣ד עָלַ֔יִךְ וְ֠אַתְּ לִמַּ֨דְתְּ אֹתָ֥ם עָלַ֛יִךְ אַלֻּפִ֖ים לְרֹ֑אשׁ הֲל֤וֹא חֲבָלִים֙ יֹאחֱז֔וּךְ כְּמ֖וֹ אֵ֥שֶׁת לֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• What wilt thou sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• when he shall punishפָּקַדpâqad · to reckon: overseerH6485
• thee? for thou hast taughtלָמַדlâmad · to learn: teachH3925
• captainsאַלּוּף'alûph 'allûph · tameH441
• as chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• over thee: shall not sorrowsחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
• takeאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
• thee, as a womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• in travailיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205

Cross-references for Jeremiah 13:21

• Jeremiah 5:31Prophets prophesy lies. Priests rule under the prophets’ directions, and my people love this. But what will you do in the end?”
• Jeremiah 22:23You live in Lebanon and have your nest in the cedars. But you will groan when pain strikes you, pain like a woman giving birth to a child.
• Isaiah 10:3What will you do on the day you are called to account ⌞for these things⌟, when the disaster comes from far away? Where will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
• Ezekiel 28:9You will no longer say that you are a god when you face those who kill you. You will be a human, not a god, in the hands of those who kill you.
• 2 Kings 16:7Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath Pileser of Assyria to say, “I’m your servant, your son. Come and save me from the kings of Aram and Israel who are attacking me.”
• Isaiah 39:2Hezekiah was so happy with them that he showed the messengers his warehouse: the silver, gold, balsam, fine olive oil, his entire armory, and everything in his treasury. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and every corner of his kingdom.
• Jeremiah 4:31I hear a woman in labor. I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child. My people Zion are gasping for breath. They are stretching out their hands, saying, “How horrible it is for us! We’re defenseless in the presence of murderers!”
• Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the news about them. Our hands hang limp. We are gripped by anguish and pain like a woman giving birth to a child.
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see: Can a man give birth to a child? Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain like a woman giving birth to a child? Why has every face turned pale?
• Jeremiah 48:41The cities will be taken, and the fortified places will be captured. On that day Moab’s soldiers will be like women in childbirth.
• Isaiah 13:8They’ll be terrified. Pain and anguish will seize them. They’ll writhe like a woman giving birth to a child. They’ll look at one another in astonishment. Their faces will be burning red.
• Isaiah 21:3That is why my body is full of trembling. Pain grips me like the pain of childbirth. I’m disturbed by what I hear. I’m terrified by what I see.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 13:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee - This is said of their enemies, whether Assyrians or Chaldeans: for ever since Ahaz submitted himself to the king of Assyria, the kings of Judah never regained their independence. Their enemies were thus taught to be their lords and masters.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Translate, “What wilt thou say, O Jerusalem, when He, Yahweh, shall set over thee for head those whom thou hast taught to be thy bosom friends?” The foreign powers, whose friendship she has been courting, will become her tyrants.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-27Verses 18-27 Here is a message sent to king Jehoiakim, and his queen. Their sorrows would be great indeed. Do they ask, Wherefore come these things upon us? Let them know, it is for their obstinacy in sin. We cannot alter the natural colour of the skin; and so is it morally impossible to reclaim and reform these people. Sin is the blackness of the soul; it is the discolouring of it; we were shapen in it, so that we cannot get clear of it by any power of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-22King Jehoiachin did not care about the well-being of his people, the beautiful flock of Judah. Because of the king's many sins, Judah suffered abuse from its supposed allies.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. captains, and as chief--literally, "princes as to headship"; or "over thy head," namely, the Chaldeans. Rather, translate, "What wilt thou say when God will set them (the enemies, Jr 13:20) above thee, seeing that thou thyself hast accustomed them (to be) with thee as (thy) lovers in the highest place (literally, 'at thy head')? Thou canst not say God does thee wrong, seeing it was thou that gave occasion to His dealing so with thee, by so eagerly…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 13:21

• Idolatry
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Appear
• Pity
• Principality
• Captain
• Hosea
• Pain

Commentaries on Jeremiah 13

• 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