Every city in Judah takes to flight as the enemy approaches ( Jeremiah 4:29), but not Jerusalem, not the daughter of Zion
(Jeremiah 4:31). She is the desolate one
who makes the decision rather to welcome the enemy. She dresses herself in scarlet, adorns herself with ornaments of gold and uses make-up to enlarge her eyes. The image here is that of a prostitute trying to make herself attractive for a client. Jerusalem hopes to woo the coming enemy by offering herself to her lover. The lover here refers to the foreign nations, such as Babylon, with whom she has made alliances instead of trusting in the Lord.1 The fact that it is Jerusalem that makes this desperate attempt to win the favour of the invading force, while all the other cities flee, points again to the fact that the leadership of Judah has defiantly turned away from the Lord and led the people in unfaithfulness (see Jeremiah 2:8, Jeremiah 2:26). This is Jerusalem’s defiant stand right to the bitter end.2
30 Et toi, dévastée, que vas-tu faire? Tu te revêtiras de cramoisi, tu te pareras d'ornements d'or, Tu mettras du fard à tes yeux; Mais c'est en vain que tu t'embelliras; Tes amants te méprisent, Ils en veulent à ta vie.