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

28The earth will mourn and the heavens will be draped in black because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it.” 29At the noise of charioteers and archers, the people flee in terror. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the towns have been abandoned— not a person remains! What are you doing, you who have been plundered? Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing and put on gold jewelry? Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara? Your primping will do you no good! The allies who were your lovers despise you and seek to kill you. 31I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor, the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child. It is beautiful Jerusalem gasping for breath and crying out, “Help! I’m being murdered!”

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 give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
• Jeremiah 13:21What 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!
• Isaiah 10:3What will you do when I punish you, when I send disaster upon you from a distant land? To whom will you turn for help? Where will your treasures be safe?
• Isaiah 20:6They will say, ‘If this can happen to Egypt, what chance do we have? We were counting on Egypt to protect us from the king of Assyria.’”
• Isaiah 33:14The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear. Terror seizes the godless. “Who can live with this devouring fire?” they cry. “Who can survive this all-consuming fire?”
• Hebrews 2:3So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?
• Ezekiel 23:40“You sisters sent messengers to distant lands to get men. Then when they arrived, you bathed yourselves, painted your eyelids, and put on your finest jewels for them.
• Ezekiel 28:9Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’ to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man!
• Revelation 17:4The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls. In her hand she held a gold goblet full of obscenities and the impurities of her immorality.
• 2 Kings 9:30When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window.
• Jeremiah 22:20Weep for your allies in Lebanon. Shout for them in Bashan. Search for them in the regions east of the river. See, they are all destroyed. Not one is left to help you.
• Lamentations 1:2She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.
• Lamentations 4:17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.
• Ezekiel 16:36This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols, and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods,
• Ezekiel 23:9“And so I handed her over to her Assyrian lovers, whom she desired so much.
• Revelation 17:2The kings of the world have committed adultery with her, and the people who belong to this world have been made drunk by 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