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)
The foreign powers to whom Jerusalem paid court. Judah constantly sought safety in foreign alliances (see on ch. 2:33, 36). But all these efforts to find security in these foreign “lovers” would be in vain.
Rentest thy face.
Literally, “enlargest thy eyes.” The reference is to the custom of Oriental women of putting a black mineral powder on the edges of the eyelids (see on 2 Kings 9:30). This black powder had a metallic glitter and made the eyes appear larger and more brilliant.
What wilt thou do?
What course can “the daughter of Zion” (v. 31) take when she is besieged by the Babylonians? Her pride and confidence are ill-grounded, for her condition is desperate. Why does she keep on hoping against hope to save herself?
When thou art spoiled.
A rendering not requiring the italicized words “when” and “art” is “thou, O spoiled one.” The “thou” in Hebrew is feminine and refers to Jerusalem (see v. 31). The city is here personified as a woman who vainly adorns herself to please her admirers.