English Standard Version
Jeremiah 22:23
23O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!"
Jeremiah 22:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
- New International Version (NIV)You who live in ‘Lebanon,’ who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor!
- New King James Version (NKJV)O inhabitant of Lebanon, Making your nest in the cedars, How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you, Like the pain of a woman in labor?
- New Living Translation (NLT)It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish— anguish like that of a woman in labor.
Context of Jeremiah 22:23
21I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, 'I will not listen.' This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice. 22The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; then you will be ashamed and confounded because of all your evil. O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!" 24"As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Read all of Jeremiah 22Jeremiah 22:23 word by word
יֹשַׁבְתְּ֙ בַּלְּבָנ֔וֹן מְקֻנַּ֖נְתְּ בָּֽאֲרָזִ֑ים מַה־נֵּחַנְתְּ֙ בְּבֹא־לָ֣ךְ חֲבָלִ֔ים חִ֖יל כַּיֹּלֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- O inhabitantיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- of Lebanonלְבָנוֹןlebânôn · LebanonH3844
- that makest thy nestקִנֵּןqânan · to make a nestH7077
- in the cedarsאֶ֫רֶז'erez · cedarH730
- how graciousחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
- shalt thou be when pangsחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
- comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- upon thee, the painחִילchîyl chîylâh · agonyH2427
- as of a woman in travailיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
Cross-references for Jeremiah 22:23
- Jeremiah 22:6For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: "'You are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, yet surely I will make you a desert, an uninhabited city.
- Zechariah 11:1Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars!
- Jeremiah 21:13"Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O rock of the plain, declares the Lord; you who say, 'Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter our habitations?'
- Jeremiah 48:28"Leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove that nests in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.
- Jeremiah 49:16The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.
- Numbers 24:21And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.
- Amos 9:2"If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
- Obadiah 1:4Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord.
- Habakkuk 2:9"Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!
- Jeremiah 3:21A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God.
- Jeremiah 4:31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands, "Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers."
- Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 30:5"Thus says the Lord: We have heard a cry of panic, of terror, and no peace.
- Jeremiah 50:4"In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God.
- Hosea 5:15I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me.
- Hosea 6:1"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 22:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23How gracious shalt thou be - A strong irony.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Lebanon is the usual metaphor for anything splendid. and is here put for Jerusalem, but with special reference to the kings whose pride it was to dwell in palaces roofed with cedar Jeremiah 22:14. How gracious shalt thou be - Or, How wilt thou groan!Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-30Verses 20-30 The Jewish state is described under a threefold character. Very haughty in a day of peace and safety. Very fearful on alarm of trouble. Very much cast down under pressure of trouble. Many never are ashamed of their sins till brought by them to the last extremity. The king shall close his days in bondage. Those that think themselves as signets on God's right hand, must not be secure, but fear lest they should be plucked thence. The Jewish king…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-23God judged Jehoiakim for his terrible sins. Neither his family nor his people would mourn him.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. inhabitant of Lebanon--namely, Jerusalem, whose temple, palaces, and principal habitations were built of cedars of Lebanon. how gracious--irony. How graciously thou wilt be treated by the Chaldees, when they come on thee suddenly, as pangs on a woman in travail (Jr 6:24)! Nay, all thy fine buildings will win no favor for thee from them. Maurer translates, "How shalt thou be to be pitied!"Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 22:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries