New King James Version
Jeremiah 13:21
21What 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?
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 Living Translation (NLT)What will you say when the Lord takes the allies you have cultivated and appoints them as your rulers? Pangs of anguish will grip you, like those of a woman in labor!
Context of Jeremiah 13:21
19The cities of the South shall be shut up, And no one shall open them; Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it; It shall be wholly carried away captive. 20Lift up your eyes and see Those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, Your beautiful sheep? 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? 22And if you say in your heart, “Why have these things come upon me?” For the greatness of your iniquity Your skirts have been uncovered, Your heels made bare. 23Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
Read all of Jeremiah 13Jeremiah 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 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end?
- Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like the pain of a woman in labor?
- Isaiah 10:3What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?
- Ezekiel 28:9“Will you still say before him who slays you, ‘I am a god’? But you shall be a man, and not a god, In the hand of him who slays you.
- 2 Kings 16:7So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who rise up against me.”
- Isaiah 39:2And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures—the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory—all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
- Jeremiah 4:31“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’
- Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?
- Jeremiah 48:41Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are surprised; The mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs.
- Isaiah 13:8And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
- Isaiah 21:3Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not 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
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries