John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 13:21

"What wilt thou say, when he shall set over thee as head those whom thou hast thyself taught to be friends to thee? shall not sorrows take hold of thee, as of a woman in travail?" — Jeremiah 13:21 (ASV)

What will you say when he shall punish you ?
&c.] Or, "visit upon you" ^F6 ; that is, either when God shall punish you for your sins, you can bring no charge of injustice against him, or murmur and repine at the punishment inflicted on you; so Jarchi; to which agrees the Targum, ``when he shall visit on you your sin;'' or else, to which the following words seem to incline, when the enemy shall visit upon you; so Kimchi and Abarbinel, when the Chaldeans shall come upon you, and pay you a visit, an unwelcome one; yet who will you have to blame but yourself? so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "when they shall visit you";

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 you have taught them to be captains, and as chief over you; )
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, "have taught them against you" ^F7 ; to your 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 you 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.

---

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.