John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 13:22

"And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore are these things come upon me? for the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence." — Jeremiah 13:22 (ASV)

The Prophet again declares that God’s judgment would be just, which he had previously foretold; for hypocrites, we know, do not stop quarreling with God, unless they are often proved guilty; and it is always their aim, when they cannot entirely excuse themselves, to lessen their fault in some measure. The Prophet therefore removes every pretext for evasion here and declares that they were entirely deserving of such a reward.

But his manner of speaking should be noted: If you will say in your heart, etc. Hypocrites not only claim righteousness for themselves before the world, but they also deceive themselves, and the devil so deludes them with a false persuasion that they seek to be counted just before God.

This then is what the Prophet presents when he says, If you will say in your heart, Why have these evils happened to me? That is, if you seek by secret murmuring to contend with God, the answer is ready — Because of the multitude of your iniquity, your skirts are discovered, and your heels are denuded. He describes “the multitude of iniquity” as that perverse wickedness which prevailed among the Jews, for they had long continued to provoke the wrath of God.

If they had only sinned once, or had been guilty of only one kind of sin, there would have been some hope of pardon; at least God would not have executed so severe a punishment. But as there had been an uninterrupted course of sinning, the Prophet shows that it would not be right to spare them any longer.

Regarding the simile, it is a way of speaking often used by the prophets: that is, to denude the soles of the feet and to uncover the skirts.

We know that people clothe themselves not only to protect them from cold but also to cover the body for the sake of modesty. Therefore, garments have a twofold use: one arising from necessity and the other from decency.

Since clothes are partly made for this purpose—to cover what could not be decently shown or left bare without shame—the prophets use this manner of speaking when they intend to show that someone is exposed to public reproach.