Jeremiah 4:31

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

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.

I have heard

Spreadeth

Isaiah 1:15

Lamentations 1:17

For my

Genesis 27:46

Job 10:1

Because

General references

Isaiah 26:17

Bible References

I have heard

We have heard the news about it, and our hands are limp. Distress has seized us like a woman in labor.

What will you say when the LORD appoints over you as your head those whom you taught to be your allies? Pain will seize you like that seizing a woman about to give birth, will it not?

You who live in Lebanon, who build your nest in the cedars, how you will groan when pains come upon you, pain like that of a woman giving birth.

Ask about this and think about it Can a man give birth to a child? Why then do I see every strong man with his hands on his thighs like a woman giving birth, and all their faces have turned pale?

The towns will be captured and the strongholds seized. On that day the hearts of the warriors of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Look, he will rise up and fly swiftly like an eagle. He will spread his wings against Bozrah, and on that day the hearts of the warriors of Edom will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

The king of Babylon has heard the news about them, and his hands hang limp. Distress has seized him, like a woman in labor.

They will be terrified; pain and anguish will seize them; they'll writhe like a woman in labor. They'll look aghast at one another; and their faces will be ablaze with fear.

Therefore my body is racked with pain; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am so upset that I cannot hear; I am so frightened that I cannot see while I'm reeling around.

When the time of childbirth comes, he will be so foolish that he will refuse to be born."

When people say, "There is peace and security," destruction will strike them as suddenly as labor pains come to a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape.

Spreadeth

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I'll hide my eyes from you. Even though you pray repeatedly, I won't listen. Your hands are full of blood, your fingers drenched with iniquity."

Zion spreads out her hands; no one is there to comfort her. The LORD has issued an order against Jacob, that all who are around him are to be his enemies; Jerusalem has become unclean among them.

For my

Rebekah also told herself, "Heth's daughters are making me tired of living. If Jacob marries one of Heth's daughters, and she turns out to be just like these other local women, what kind of life would there be left for me?"

"I am disgusted with living, so I'm going to talk about my complaint freely. I'll speak out from the bitterness of my soul.

Because

If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword! If I go into the city, I see the ravages of the famine! Indeed, both prophet and priest ply their trade in the land, but they don't know anything.'"

Therefore, make their children undergo famine, and deliver them over to death in time of war. May their women be childless widows! May their men be slaughtered! May their young men be slain by the sword in battle!

Look, LORD, how distressed I am; all my insides are churning. My heart is troubled within me, because I vigorously rebelled. Outside the sword brings loss of life, while at home death rules.

Young men and the aged lie on the ground in the streets; my young women and young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them in your anger, slaughtering them without pity.

As I continued to listen, he also told the others, "Follow him through the city and start killing. Don't spare anyone you see, and don't show pity of any kind.

This is what the Lord GOD says: "Bring an army against them and deliver them over to terror and plunder.

General references

Just as a pregnant woman writhes and cries out during her labor when she is about to give birth, so were we because of you, LORD.