Jeremiah 13:20

¹⁸ Say to the king and to the queen mother: “Take a lowly seat, for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”

¹⁹ The cities of the Negev have been shut tight, and no one can open them. All Judah has been carried into exile, wholly taken captive.

Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride?

²¹ What will you say when He sets over you close allies whom you yourself trained? Will not pangs of anguish grip you, as they do a woman in labor?

²² And if you ask yourself, “Why has this happened to me?” It is because of the magnitude of your iniquity that your skirts have been stripped off and your body has been exposed.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Lift up your eyes and see those coming from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride?
KJV: Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
WEB: Lift up your eyes, and see those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?
ASV: Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
DARBY: Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
BLB: Lift up your⁺ eyes, and see those coming from the north. Where [is] the flock He gave to you, your beautiful flock?

ÅB: Løft deres øyne og se dem som kommer fra Norden! Hvor er nå den flokken som var gitt deg[^1], dine herlige sauer?
OTB: Løft opp øynene dine og se de som kommer fra nord. Hvor er flokken som ble betrodd deg, sauene som du skrøt av?
B1930: Løft eders øine og se dem som kommer fra Norden! Hvor er nu den hjord som var gitt dig, dine herlige får? / < Jerusalem.>

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 6:22
This is what the LORD says: “Behold, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is stirred up from the ends of the earth.
Read in context
Jeremiah 1:14
Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.
Read in context
Habakkuk 1:6
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans — that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.
Read in context
Jeremiah 23:2
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
Read in context
Jeremiah 10:22
Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made a desolation, a haunt for jackals.
Read in context
Jeremiah 13:17
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Read in context
Acts 20:26–29
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.
Read in context
Zechariah 11:16–17
For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
Read in context