New English Translation
Jeremiah 4:30
30And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you.
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
28Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.” 29At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them. And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you. 31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 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 lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!
- Jeremiah 13:21What will you say when the Lord appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Isaiah 10:3What will you do on judgment day, when destruction arrives from a distant place? To whom will you run for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- Isaiah 20:6At that time those who live on this coast will say, ‘Look what has happened to our source of hope to whom we fled for help, expecting to be rescued from the king of Assyria! How can we escape now?’”
- Isaiah 33:14Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?’
- Hebrews 2:3how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,
- Ezekiel 23:40“They even sent for men from far away; when the messenger arrived, those men set out. For them you bathed, painted your eyes, and decorated yourself with jewelry.
- Ezekiel 28:9Will you still say, “I am a god,” before the one who kills you – though you are a man and not a god – when you are in the power of those who wound you?
- Revelation 17:4Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality.
- 2 Kings 9:30Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window.
- Jeremiah 22:20People of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning. Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly. Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab. For your allies have all been defeated.
- Lamentations 1:2She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. ג (Gimel)
- Lamentations 4:17Our eyes continually failed us as we looked in vain for help. From our watchtowers we watched for a nation that could not rescue us. צ (Tsade)
- Ezekiel 16:36This is what the sovereign Lord says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness was uncovered in your prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your children you have given to them,
- Ezekiel 23:9Therefore I handed her over to her lovers, the Assyrians for whom she lusted.
- Revelation 17:2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk 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
In the dictionaries
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
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