New English Translation
Jeremiah 30:6
6Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?
Jeremiah 30:6 in other versions
- King James Version (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?
- New International Version (NIV)Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Ask now, and see, can a man bear a child? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned pale?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?
Context of Jeremiah 30:6
4So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah. 5Yes, here is what he says: “You hear cries of panic and of terror; there is no peace in sight. Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale? 7Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! There has never been any like it. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but some of them will be rescued out of it. 8When the time for them to be rescued comes,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will rescue you from foreign subjugation. I will deliver you from captivity. Foreigners will then no longer subjugate them.
Read all of Jeremiah 30Jeremiah 30:6 word by word
שַׁאֲלוּ־נָ֣א וּרְא֔וּ אִם־יֹלֵ֖ד זָכָ֑ר מַדּוּעַ֩ רָאִ֨יתִי כָל־גֶּ֜בֶר יָדָ֤יו עַל־חֲלָצָיו֙ כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּ כָל־פָּנִ֖ים לְיֵרָקֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Askשָׁאַלshâ'al shâ'êl · to askH7592
- ye now, and seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- whether a manזָכָרzâkâr · maleH2145
- doth travail with childיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
- every manגָּבֶרgeber · great manH1397
- with his handsיָדyâd · handH3027
- on his loinsחָלָץchâlâts · loinH2504
- and all facesפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- are turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
- into palenessיֵרָקוֹןyêrâqôn · mildewH3420
Cross-references for Jeremiah 30:6
- Jeremiah 4:31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
- Jeremiah 6:24The people cry out, “We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
- Jeremiah 13:21What will you say when the Lord appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Jeremiah 22:23You may feel as secure as a bird nesting in the cedars of Lebanon. But oh how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you. They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Jeremiah 49:24The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 50:43The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
- Psalms 48:6Look at them shake uncontrollably, like a woman writhing in childbirth.
- Isaiah 13:6Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment is near; it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge.
- Isaiah 21:3For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
- Daniel 5:6Then all the color drained from the king’s face and he became alarmed. The joints of his hips gave way, and his knees began knocking together.
- Hosea 13:13The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb!
- Micah 4:9Jerusalem, why are you now shouting so loudly? Has your king disappeared? Has your wise leader been destroyed? Is this why pain grips you as if you were a woman in labor?
- John 16:21When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.
- Isaiah 29:22So this is what the Lord, the one who delivered Abraham, says to the family of Jacob: “Jacob will no longer be ashamed; their faces will no longer show their embarrassment.
- Joel 2:6People writhe in fear when they see them. All of their faces turn pale with fright.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 30:6
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-24This series of messages is mostly positive, with only two verses having a judgmental tone (Jeremiah 30:23–24). They describe the positive outcomes of Jerusalem's destruction and the Exile.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. Ask--Consult all the authorities, men or books, you can, you will not find an instance. Yet in that coming day men will be seen with their hands pressed on their loins, as women do to repress their pangs. God will drive men through pain to gestures more fitting a woman than a man (Jr 4:31; 6:24). The metaphor is often used to express the previous pain followed by the sudden deliverance of Israel, as in the case of a woman in childbirth (Is 66:7-9)…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 30:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 30
- 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
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Commentaries