Jeremiah 30:6

⁴ And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.

⁵ For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

⁷ Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

⁸ For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

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: Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
KJV: Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
WEB: Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned pale?
ASV: Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
DARBY: Ask ye now, and see, whether a male doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces are turned into paleness?
BLB: Ask now, and see, can a male give birth? Why have I seen every man [with] his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces have turned pale?

ÅB: Spør og se etter om en mann føder! Hvorfor ser jeg hver mann med hendene på sine lender, lik en fødende kvinne, og hvorfor er alle åsyn forandret og blitt bleke?
OTB: Spør nå, og se: Kan en mann føde barn? Hvorfor ser jeg da hver mann med hendene på magen som en kvinne i fødsel, og hvorfor har alle ansikter blitt bleke?
B1930: Spør og se efter om en mann føder! Hvorfor ser jeg hver mann med hendene på sine lender, lik en fødende kvinne, og hvorfor er alle åsyn forandret og blitt bleke?

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Joel 2:6
Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
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Jeremiah 4:31
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Read in context
Nahum 2:10
She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.
Read in context
Isaiah 21:3
Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.
Read in context
1 Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
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Hosea 13:13
The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.
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Psalms 48:6
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
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Jeremiah 6:24
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Read in context