Jeremiah 6:24

Judgment

²² Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

²³ They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

²⁵ Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

²⁶ O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

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: We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
KJV: We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
WEB: We have heard its report. Our hands become feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, and pains as of a woman in labor.
ASV: We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.
DARBY: We have heard the report thereof: our hands are grown feeble; anguish hath taken hold of us, pain as of a woman that travaileth.
BLB: We have heard the report of it, our hands grow feeble; distress has taken hold of us, writhing as a woman giving birth.

ÅB: Vi har hørt ryktet om det, våre hender er blitt kraftløse; angst har grepet oss, smerter som den fødende kvinnes.
OTB: Vi har hørt rapporter om dem, og våre hender er svake. Angst har grepet oss, smerte som den til en kvinne i fødsel.
B1930: Vi har hørt ryktet om det, våre hender er blitt kraftløse; angst har grepet oss, smerter som den fødende kvinnes.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Jeremiah 50:43
The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
Read in context
Jeremiah 49:24
Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
Read in context
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
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
Jeremiah 4:19–21
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Read in context
Jeremiah 13:21
What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
Read in context
Jeremiah 30:6
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?
Read in context
Isaiah 28:19
From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Read in context