'Suffering' in the Bible

To the woman He said,“I will greatly multiplyYour pain in childbirth;In pain you will give birth to children;Yet your desire and longing will be for your husband,And he will rule [with authority] over you and be responsible for you.”

No one who may have been set apart among men shall be ransomed [from death], he shall most certainly be put to death.

“Therefore You handed them over to their enemies who oppressed them.But when they cried out to You in the time of their suffering and distress,You heard them from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them people to rescue them.Who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.

“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves,So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

So am I allotted months of futility and suffering,And [long] nights of trouble and misery are appointed to me.

Withdraw Your hand from me and remove this bodily suffering,And let not the dread of You terrify me.

“[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth,And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.

“Do not let wrath entice you into scoffing;And do not let the greatness and the extent of the ransom turn you aside.

Because of the sound of my groaning [in suffering and trouble]My bones cling to my flesh.

My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline];Nor despise His rebuke,

A prudent and far-sighted person sees the evil [of sin] and hides himself [from it],But the naive continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].

It is not good to eat much honey,Nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.

A prudent man sees evil and hides himself and avoids it,But the naive [who are easily misled] continue on and are punished [by suffering the consequences of sin].

“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]“My wound is incurable.”But I said, “Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,And I must bear it.”

“The Lord is righteous and just;For I have rebelled against His commandment (His word).Hear now, all you peoples,And look at my pain;My virgins and my young menHave gone into captivity.

How shall I console you?To what shall I compare you,O Daughter of Jerusalem?With what shall I compare you, so that I may comfort you,O Virgin Daughter of Zion?For your ruin is as vast as the sea;Who can heal you?

Because you [descendants of Esau] have had an everlasting hatred [for Jacob (Israel)] and you handed over the sons of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their tragedy, at the time of their final punishment [the Babylonian conquest],

The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army];He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feetAnd makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.