Jeremiah 13:21

21 You have worked hard to make special friends. But the LORD will let them rule over you. Then what will you say? Suffering will take hold of you. It will be like the pain of a woman having a baby.

Jeremiah 13:21 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 13:21

What will thou say when he shall punish thee?
&c.] Or, "visit upon thee" ^F6; that is, either when God shall punish thee for thy sins, thou canst bring no charge of injustice against him, or murmur and repine at the punishment inflicted on thee; so Jarchi; to which agrees the Targum,

``when he shall visit on thee thy sin;''

or else, to which the following words seem to incline, when the enemy shall visit upon thee; so Kimchi and Abarbinel, when the Chaldeans shall come upon thee, and pay thee a visit, an unwelcome one; yet who wilt thou have to blame but thyself? so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "when they shall visit thee"; these words are directed, not to the king, nor to the queen neither; but to the body of the people, the Jewish state, represented as a woman; who, upon consideration of things past, would have a great deal of reason to reflect upon themselves for what they had done in former times, which had led on to their ruin and destruction: (for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee;)
the Jews showed the Assyrians the way into their country, used them to come thither, and taught them how to conquer them, and be masters over them; or, "hast taught them against thee" ^F7; to thy hurt and detriment, to be captains or governors; for an head,
to have the rule over them: this was done by Ahaz, when he sent to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria to come and save him out of the hands of the kings of Syria and Israel, ( 2 Kings 16:7 ) and by Hezekiah, when he showed the messengers of the king of Babylon all his treasures; these were invitations and temptations to come and plunder them: shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail?
denoting the suddenness of their calamities; the sharpness and severity of them; and that they would be inevitable, and could not be prevented.

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FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Kyle dqpy yk) "quando visitabit super te"; Cocceius; "quum visitaverit super te", Schmidt.
F7 (Kyle Mta tdml taw) "docuisti istos contra te", Piscator.

Jeremiah 13:21 In-Context

19 The gates of the cities in the Negev Desert will be shut tight. There won't be anyone to open them. You will be carried away as prisoners. You will be taken away completely.

20 Jerusalem, look up! Your enemies are coming from the north. Where is the flock you were supposed to take care of? Where are the sheep you were so proud of?

21 You have worked hard to make special friends. But the LORD will let them rule over you. Then what will you say? Suffering will take hold of you. It will be like the pain of a woman having a baby.

22 Suppose you ask yourself, "Why has this happened to me?" It's because you have committed so many sins. That's the reason your skirt has been torn off. That's why your body has been treated so badly.

23 Can people from Ethiopia change their skin? Can leopards change their spots? It's the same with you. You have always done what is evil. So how can you do what is good?