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.
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do?.... Or, "O thou spoiled" {k}, wasted, and undone creature, how wilt thou help thyself? by what means dost thou think thou canst be delivered? it suggests that her ruin was inevitable; that she could not be recovered from it by herself, or any other:
Though thou clothest thyself with crimson; and so look like some rich and noble person; hoping thereby to find mercy, and to have quarter given and kindness shown:
Though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold; as a person of high and princely dignity: or rather all this is to be understood of the manner of harlots, who dress rich and grand, in order to allure men; since it follows,
Though thou rendest thy face with painting; or, eyes {l}; which painting dilates as Jezebel did, 2 Kings 9:30,
in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; so as to be loved and admired: far from it:
thy lovers will despise thee; as an old harlot is despised by her former gallants, notwithstanding all her dressing and painting; yea, their love is often turned into hatred and abhorrence, as would be the case here,
they will seek thy life; to take it away; so far would there be from being any ground of expectations of help and deliverance from them.
{k} dwdv ytaw "et tu vastata", Pagninus, Montanus "et tu, res vastata", Cocceius.
{l} Kynye Kwpb yerqx "scindes in fuco oculos tuos", Montanus; "rumpes stibio oculos tuos", Schmidt.