Jeremiah 13:22

22 "If you ¹say in your heart, '²Why have these things happened to me?' Because of the ³magnitude of your iniquity ⁴Your skirts have been removed And your heels have been exposed.

Jeremiah 13:22 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 13:22

And if thou say in thine heart
Not daring to express it with the mouth; and which, notwithstanding, God, that knows the heart, was privy to, and could discern all the secret workings of it; putting such a question as this: wherefore come these things upon me?
all these calamities, the invasion and siege of the enemy, famine, sword, captivity: the answer returned is, for the greatness of thine iniquity;
the enormous crimes the Jews were guilty of, such as idolatry, blasphemy which were attended with aggravated circumstances: or, "for the multitude of thine iniquity" {h}; their sins being so many, as well as great: are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made bare;
being obliged to walk naked and barefoot, their buttocks uncovered, and their legs and feet naked, without stockings or shoes, as captives used to be led, to their great shame and disgrace; see ( Isaiah 20:2-4 ) . The phrases are expressive of captivity, and the manner of it; the cause of which was the greatness and multitude of their sins. The Targum is,

``because thy sins are multiplied, thy confusion is revealed, thy shame is seen.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 (Knwe brb) "propter multitudinem iniquitatis tuae", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 13:22 In-Context

20 "Lift up your eyes and see Those coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given you, Your beautiful sheep?

21 "What will you say when He appoints over you- And you yourself had taught them- Former companions to be head over you? Will not pangs take hold of you Like a woman in childbirth?

22 "If you say in your heart, 'Why have these things happened to me?' Because of the magnitude of your iniquity Your skirts have been removed And your heels have been exposed.

23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.

24 "Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw To the desert wind.

Cross References

• 1. Deuteronomy 7:17
• 2. Jeremiah 5:19; Jeremiah 16:10
• 3. Jeremiah 2:17-19; Jeremiah 9:2-9
• 4. Isaiah 47:2; Ezekiel 16:37; Nahum 3:5

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "suffered violence"