Jeremiah 4:30
in Jeremiah 4And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou, when thou art made desolate, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 30.) But what will you do, O devastated one? The word 'devastated' in Hebrew is 'Sadud', which only Aquila has translated, others have translated it as 'miserable and wretched', by their own fault, for they have offended a merciful God. Finally, it follows: When you dress yourself in scarlet and adorn yourself with a golden necklace, and paint your eyes with antimony, you are in vain: your lovers have despised you, they will seek your soul.
This site's exposition
climb up upon the rocks
on Jeremiah 4:29-31
Flight empties the cities into thicket and rock, and the chapter closes on a figure the book will use again, the daughter of Zion pictured as a woman in her first labor, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands. The painted face and crimson clothing of verse 30 are Jerusalem dressed for lovers who will turn on her, they will seek thy life, beauty and ornament unable to buy back a covenant broken at its own root.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Though 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 cunning, and of solicitation, to get assistance from the neighboring states, it will be all in vain.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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 in order to make the antimony adhere [ROSENMULLER].
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַ֨תְּ | veati | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| שָׁד֜וּד | shadud | O devastated [one] | H7703 → | 57 times |
| מַֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| תַּעֲשִׂ֗י | taasi | are you doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִלְבְּשִׁ֨י | tilbeshi | you are dressing | H3847 → | |
| שָׁנִ֜י | shani | scarlet | H8144 → | |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַעְדִּ֣י | ta'di | you ornament yourself | H5710 → | |
| עֲדִי־ | ʾadi- | ornament[s] of | H5716 → | |
| זָהָ֗ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִקְרְעִ֤י | tikrei | you tear open | H7167 → | 63 times |
| בַפּוּךְ֙ | vapukh | with <the> eye-paint | H6320 → | |
| עֵינַ֔יִךְ | ʾeinayikh | eyes your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| לַשָּׁ֖וְא | lashav' | for <the> vanity | H7723 → | 53 times |
| תִּתְיַפִּ֑י | tityapi | you beautify yourself | H3302 → | |
| מָאֲסוּ־ | maasu- | they have rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| בָ֥ךְ | vakh | <in> <the> you | ||
| עֹגְבִ֖ים | ʾogevim | lovers | H5689 → | |
| נַפְשֵׁ֥ךְ | nafshekh | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יְבַקֵּֽשׁוּ׃ | yevakeshu | they seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
וְאַ֨תְּand you
veatiH859 →1094 times
שָׁד֜וּדO devastated [one]
shadudH7703 →57 times
מַֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
תַּעֲשִׂ֗יare you doing
taasiH6213 →2628 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִלְבְּשִׁ֨יyou are dressing
tilbeshiH3847 →
שָׁנִ֜יscarlet
shaniH8144 →
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תַעְדִּ֣יyou ornament yourself
ta'diH5710 →
עֲדִי־ornament[s] of
ʾadi-H5716 →
זָהָ֗בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִקְרְעִ֤יyou tear open
tikreiH7167 →63 times
בַפּוּךְ֙with <the> eye-paint
vapukhH6320 →
עֵינַ֔יִךְeyes your
ʾeinayikhH5869 →887 times
לַשָּׁ֖וְאfor <the> vanity
lashav'H7723 →53 times
תִּתְיַפִּ֑יyou beautify yourself
tityapiH3302 →
מָאֲסוּ־they have rejected
maasu-H3988 →76 times
בָ֥ךְ<in> <the> you
vakh
עֹגְבִ֖יםlovers
ʾogevimH5689 →
נַפְשֵׁ֥ךְlife your
nafshekhH5315 →754 times
יְבַקֵּֽשׁוּ׃they seek
yevakeshuH1245 →225 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
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.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:40
Furthermore, 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 24:17
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
- Ezekiel 23:40
Through
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.
it leads to
- Psalms 6:6
I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
- Micah 7:5
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Psalms 6:6
Through
Lamentations 1:19I called out to my lovers, but they have betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while they searched for food to keep themselves alive.
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:11
All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.
- Lamentations 1:2
She 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 2:20
Look, O LORD, and consider: Whom have You ever treated like this? Should women eat their offspring, the infants they have nurtured? Should priests and prophets be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
- Job 19:13–19
He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me.
- Lamentations 1:11
Where this verse is studied
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About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.