John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 13:20

"Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?" — Jeremiah 13:20 (ASV)

Here we see that Egypt and Chaldea are set in opposition to each other. It is as if the Prophet had said, “Whenever anything is said to you about the Chaldeans, you turn your eyes to Egypt, as if that would be a quiet residence for you; but God will prevent you from having any escape there. Now see, see your enemies who are coming from another quarter, even from Chaldea. Lift up then your eyes.” Since they were so very intent on their present ease, he commands them to lift up their eyes, so that they might see farther than they were accustomed to do.

He then says, Where is the flock that had been given to you? And the sheep of your glory? It is out of pity that the Prophet speaks this way, for he saw by the Spirit the whole land deserted. In wonder he asks, “What does this mean, that the flock is scattered which had been given to you?” He addresses the people under the character of a woman, as he often does in other places.

In short, he confirms what he had said before—that he would go to some secret place if the people were not influenced by his doctrine, and that he would there, by himself, deplore their calamity. But he employs other words and, at the same time, intimates that he alone had eyes to see, as others were blind, for God had even taken from them understanding and discernment.

The Prophet then shows here that he saw the dreadful desolation that was soon to come. Therefore, as one astonished, he asks: Where is the flock with which God had enriched the land? And further he asks: Where are the sheep which possessed a magnificent honor or beauty?