Jeremiah 4:31

For a voice as of a woman in pangs, have I heard Anguish as of her that is bearing her firstborn. The voice of the daughter of Zion! She gaspeth for breath, She spreadeth forth her palms,—Surely woe to me! For my soul fainteth before murderers.

The Emphasised Bible by J. B. Rotherham

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

30And when, thou, art laid waste, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with crimson Though thou deck thyself with ornaments of gold Though thou enlarge with antimony thine eyes, In vain, shalt thou make thyself fair,—Paramours have rejected thee, Thy life, will they seek!

Read all of Jeremiah 4

Cross References

Genesis 27:46So then Rebekah said unto Isaac, I am disgusted with my life because of the daughters of Heth,—Should Jacob be taking a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these, of the daughters of the land, wherefore could I wish for life?

Psalms 120:5Woe is me, That I sojourn in Meshek,—That I abide near the tents of Kedar!

Isaiah 6:5Then said I—Woe to me!—for I am undone, Because a man of unclean lips, am, I, And in the midst of a people of unclean lips, do I dwell,—For the King. Yahweh of hosts, have mine eyes seen!

Isaiah 21:3For this cause, are my loins filled with anguish, Pangs, have seized me, as the pangs of her that is giving birth,—I writhe so that I cannot hear, I tremble, so that I cannot see:

Isaiah 42:14I have held my peace from age-past times, I kept still, I restrained myself,—As a travailing woman, I pant, I breathe hard and gasp, all at once!

Jeremiah 6:23Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, is he! So they will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses, will they ride,—Arrayed each one, like a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Zion!

Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 4:20-31

Punishment Predicted. ( b. c. 620.) 19 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. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. 21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and… Read the whole commentary →

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