Jeremiah 4 · Verse 30

Jeremiah 4:30

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.
Jeremiah 4:30, King James Version

Jeremiah 4:30 in other translations

BSBAnd 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.
WEBYou, when you are made desolate, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with scarlet, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with makeup, you make yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers despise you. They seek your life.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd thou, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself with ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.
DARBY— And thou, wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair: thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.
BBEAnd you, when you are made waste, what will you do? Though you are clothed in red, though you make yourself beautiful with ornaments of gold, though you make your eyes wide with paint, it is for nothing that you make yourself fair; your lovers have no more desire for you, they have designs on your life.
WebsterAnd when thou art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair: thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.

What does Jeremiah 4:30 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
30. 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 in order to make the antimony adhere [Rosenmuller]. So the Jews use every artifice to secure the aid of Egypt against Babylon. face--rather, thy eyes (Eze 23:40).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 30 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. Reference is here particularly made to the practice of harlots to allure men.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 4:19-31

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…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 4:19-31 →

Jeremiah 4:30 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאַ֨תְּve.'a.tiand youH859
שָׁד֜וּדsha.DudO devastated [one]H7703
מַֽה\־mah-what?H4100
תַּעֲשִׂ֗יta.'a.Siare you doingH6213
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
תִלְבְּשִׁ֨יtil.be.Shiyou are dressingH3847
שָׁנִ֜יsha.NiscarletH8144
כִּי\־ki-thatH3588
תַעְדִּ֣יta'.Diyou ornament yourselfH5710
עֲדִי\־'a.di-ornament[s] ofH5716
זָהָ֗בza.HavgoldH2091
כִּֽי\־ki-thatH3588
תִקְרְעִ֤יtik.re.'Iyou tear openH7167
בַפּוּךְ֙va.puKhwith <the> eye-paintH6320
עֵינַ֔יִךְ'ei.Na.yikheyes yourH5869
לַשָּׁ֖וְאla.Shav'for <the> vanityH7723
תִּתְיַפִּ֑יtit.ya.Piyou beautify yourselfH3302
מָאֲסוּ\־ma.'a.su-they have rejectedH3988
בָ֥ךְvakh<in> <the> you
עֹגְבִ֖ים'o.ge.VimloversH5689
נַפְשֵׁ֥ךְnaf.Shekhlife yourH5315
יְבַקֵּֽשׁוּ\׃ye.va.Ke.shuthey seekH1245

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 4:30

  • Lamentations 1:2

    She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies.

  • 2 Kings 9:30

    And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

  • Lamentations 1:19

    I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls.

  • Isaiah 10:3

    And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

  • Ezekiel 16:36-41

    Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them; Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness. And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy. And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. …

  • Ezekiel 23:9-10

    Wherefore I have delivered her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, upon whom she doted. These discovered her nakedness: they took her sons and her daughters, and slew her with the sword: and she became famous among women; for they had executed judgment upon her.

  • Ezekiel 23:22-24

    Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side; The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses. And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments.

  • Ezekiel 28:13

    Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

  • Jeremiah 13:21

    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?

  • Isaiah 20:6

    And the inhabitant of this isle shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape?

  • Ezekiel 28:9

    Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

  • Ezekiel 23:40-41

    And furthermore, that ye have sent for men to come from far, unto whom a messenger was sent; and, lo, they came: for whom thou didst wash thyself, paintedst thy eyes, and deckedst thyself with ornaments, And satest upon a stately bed, and a table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine incense and mine oil.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
And when.
5:31; 13:21; Isa 10:3; 20:6; 33:14; Heb 2:3
Though.
Eze 23:40,41; 28:9,13; Re 17:4
face. Heb. eyes.
2Ki 9:30
in vain.
22:20-22; La 1:2,19; 4:17; Eze 16:36-41; 23:9,10,22-24,28,29
Re 17:2,13,16-18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 4:29

    The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

  • Jeremiah 4:30

    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.

  • Jeremiah 4:31

    For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.

Read all of Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:30 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y tú, destruída, ¿qué harás? Bien que te vistas de grana, aunque te adornes con atavíos de oro, aunque pintes con antimonio tus ojos, en vano te engalanas; menospreciáronte los amadores, buscarán tu alma.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et toi, dévastée, que feras-tu? Tu as beau te revêtir d’écarlate, te parer d’ornements d’or, te déchirer les yeux avec du fard, tu te fais belle en vain: les amants te méprisent, ils cherchent ta vie.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und du, Verwüstete, was wirst du tun? Wenn du dich auch in Karmesin kleidest, wenn du mit goldenem Geschmeide dich schmückst, wenn du deine Augen mit Schminke aufreißest: vergeblich machst du dich schön; die Buhlen verschmähen dich, sie trachten nach deinem Leben.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Tu autem vastata, quid facies? cum vestieris te coccino, cum ornata fueris monili aureo, et pinxeris stibio oculos tuos, frustra componeris: contempserunt te amatores tui; animam tuam quærent.