We have heard its report. Our hands become feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, and pains as of a woman in labor. Don’t go out into the field or walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and terror are on every side. Daughter of my people, clothe yourself with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes! Mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for the destroyer will suddenly come on us.
Parallel Translations
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We have heard its report. Our hands become feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, and pains as of a woman in labor.
Don’t go out into the field or walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and terror are on every side.
Daughter of my people, clothe yourself with sackcloth, and wallow in ashes! Mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for the destroyer will suddenly come on us.
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We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
Show all 3 translations
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'We have heard the fame thereof, our hands wax feeble, anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.'
Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for there is the sword of the enemy, and terror on every side.
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes; make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
Cross-references (61)
- Jeremiah 4:8 (v26) For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of Yahweh hasn’t turned back from us.
- Zechariah 12:10 (v26) I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom…
- Jeremiah 4:31 (v24) For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her who gives birth to her first child, the voice of the daughter of…
- Jeremiah 49:24 (v24) Damascus has grown feeble, she turns herself to flee, and trembling has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a…
- Jeremiah 49:29 (v25) They will take their tents and their flocks. they will carry away for themselves their curtains, all their vessels, and their camels; and…
Show all 61 cross-references
- Jeremiah 50:43 (v24) The king of Babylon has heard the news of them, and his hands become feeble: anguish has taken hold of him, pains as of a woman in labor.
- Job 18:11 (v25) Terrors will make him afraid on every side, and will chase him at his heels.
- Psalms 31:13 (v25) For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side, while they conspire together against me, they plot to take away my life.
- Isaiah 21:3 (v24) Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have seized me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t…
- Isaiah 28:19 (v24) As often as it passes through, it will seize you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be nothing…
- Jeremiah 4:19-21 (v24) My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my…
- Jeremiah 13:21 (v24) What will you say, when he sets over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? Won’t sorrows take hold of you,…
- Jeremiah 14:18 (v25) If I go out into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! If I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine!…
- Jeremiah 20:10 (v25) For I have heard the defaming of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce, and we will denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, those who…
- Jeremiah 30:6 (v24) Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all…
- Judges 5:6-7 (v25) “In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through byways. The…
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 (v25) In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.
- Psalms 48:6 (v24) Trembling took hold of them there, pain, as of a woman in travail.
- Proverbs 1:27-28 (v24) when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when your disaster comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you. Then they…
- Isaiah 1:20 (v25) but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”
- Isaiah 22:4 (v26) Therefore I said, “Look away from me. I will weep bitterly. Don’t labor to comfort me for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Isaiah 22:12 (v26) In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, to mourning, to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth;
- Isaiah 30:13 (v26) therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly in an…
- Isaiah 32:11 (v26) Tremble, you women who are at ease! Be troubled, you careless ones! Strip yourselves, make yourselves naked, and put sackcloth on your…
- Jeremiah 4:5 (v25) Declare in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, ‘Blow the trumpet in the land!’ Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves! Let’s go into…
- Jeremiah 4:6-9 (v24) Set up a standard toward Zion. Flee for safety! Don’t wait; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.” A lion has gone…
- Jeremiah 4:10 (v25) Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely you have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace;’ whereas the sword…
- Jeremiah 4:11 (v26) At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my…
- Jeremiah 4:20 (v26) Destruction on destruction is decreed, for the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains gone in a moment.
- Jeremiah 6:14 (v26) They have healed also the hurt of my people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.
- Jeremiah 8:14 (v25) “Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves! Let’s enter into the fortified cities, and let’s be silent there; for Yahweh our God has put us…
- Jeremiah 8:19 (v26) Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: “Isn’t Yahweh in Zion? Isn’t her King in her?”…
- Jeremiah 8:21–9:1 (v26) For the hurt of the daughter of my people, I am hurt. I mourn. Dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no…
- Jeremiah 9:10 (v26) I will weep and wail for the mountains, and lament for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are burned up, so that no one passes…
- Jeremiah 9:17-22 (v26) Yahweh of Armies says, “Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come. Send for the skillful women, that they may come. Let…
- Jeremiah 12:12 (v26) Destroyers have come on all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Yahweh devours from the one end of the land even to the…
- Jeremiah 13:17 (v26) But if you will not hear it, my soul will weep in secret for your pride. My eye will weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because…
- Jeremiah 14:17 (v26) “You shall say this word to them: “ ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my…
- Jeremiah 15:8 (v26) Their widows are increased more than the sand of the seas. I have brought on them against the mother of the young men a destroyer at…
- Jeremiah 20:3-4 (v25) On the next day, Pashhur released Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “Yahweh has not called your name Pashhur, but…
- Jeremiah 22:23 (v24) Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a…
- Jeremiah 25:33-34 (v26) The slain of Yahweh will be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They won’t be lamented. They won’t be…
- Lamentations 1:2 (v26) She weeps bitterly in the night. Her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her. All her friends have…
- Lamentations 1:16 (v26) “For these things I weep. My eye, my eye runs down with water, because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me. My children…
- Lamentations 2:11 (v26) My eyes fail with tears. My heart is troubled. My liver is poured on the earth, because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,…
- Lamentations 3:48 (v26) My eye runs down with streams of water, for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Lamentations 4:3 (v26) Even the jackals offer their breast. They nurse their young ones. But the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the…
- Lamentations 4:6 (v26) For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown as in a moment. No hands were laid on…
- Lamentations 4:10 (v26) The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children. They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Ezekiel 7:16-18 (v26) But those of those who escape, they will escape and will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, everyone in…
- Ezekiel 21:6-7 (v24) “Therefore sigh, you son of man. You shall sigh before their eyes with a broken heart and with bitterness. It shall be, when they ask you,…
- Ezekiel 27:30-31 (v26) and will cause their voice to be heard over you, and will cry bitterly. They will cast up dust on their heads. They will wallow in the…
- Amos 8:10 (v26) I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies, and…
- Micah 1:8-10 (v26) For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will howl like the jackals, and moan like the daughters of owls. For her…
- Micah 4:9-10 (v24) Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in…
- Habakkuk 3:16 (v24) I heard, and my body trembled. My lips quivered at the voice. Rottenness enters into my bones, and I tremble in my place, because I must…
- Luke 7:12 (v26) Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, one who was dead was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.…
- Luke 19:43 (v25) For the days will come on you, when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, surround you, hem you in on every side,
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 (v24) For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they…
- James 4:9 (v26) Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
- James 5:1 (v26) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming on you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Jeremiah proceeds in the same strain; for he sets…
Jeremiah proceeds in the same strain; for he sets before the eyes of the Jews the judgment of God, and draws them, as it were against their will, into the middle of the scene. And this was done by the prophets, as it has been already said, because by plain words they could not move the hearts of the people on account of their contempt of God, and of the long obduracy in which they had settled. Hence he says, that heard had been the report of the enemy, and that immediately dissolved had their hands When the Prophet spoke, the Jews did not think that their enemies were so near. But the phrase is to be thus explained: “As soon as ye shall hear the report, your hands shall be relaxed, and lay hold on you shall distress.”
The similitude of a woman in travail is often found in Scripture; and what is to be understood in most places is sudden and unexpected pain: but in this place the Prophet refers rather to the violence of pain; though the other meaning, which I have just stated, is not to be excluded; for it is probable, that when he saw that the hardness and obstinacy of the people were so great, he adopted this similitude, in order to shew, that however heedlessly they despised the punishment due to them, it could not yet be avoided, as it would seize them suddenly like that of a woman in childbearing. He afterwards adds —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v24 For fear of the enemy: he speaketh this in…
For fear of the enemy: he speaketh this in the person of the Jews.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–26 Jer 6:24 We have heard the fame thereof: our…
Jer 6:24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pain, as of a woman in travail.
Ver. 24. Our hands wax feeble.] He modestly reckoneth himself among the rest, though the "arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob," {Gen 49:24} and his "heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord." {Psa 112:7}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv24–26 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax…
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble. The prophet personates the people’s affections: q.d. At the very report of the. approach and fierceness of this people we are dismayed and discouraged, our hearts melt within us; all warlike courage is taken from us, 2Sa 4:1; or he modestly reckons himself among the rest.
Anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail; a description of the exquisiteness of their sufferings, Jer 13:21.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv24–26 We have heard the fame thereof,.... Meaning not the…
We have heard the fame thereof,.... Meaning not the prophet's report then, but the rumour of the enemy's coming from another quarter, at the time he was actually coming. These are the words of the people, upon such a rumour spread; or the words of the prophet, joining himself with them, describing their case, when it would be strongly reported, and they had reason to believe it, that the enemy was just coming, and very near:
our hands wax feeble; have no strength in them, shake and tremble like men that have a palsy, through fear and dread:
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anguish hath taken hold of us; tribulation or affliction; or rather anguish of spirit, on hearing the news of the near approach of the enemy:
and pain, as of a woman in travail; which comes suddenly, and is very sharp; and this denotes that their destruction would come suddenly upon them, before they were aware, and be very severe.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv24–26 We - The prophet personates the peoples affections.
We - The prophet personates the peoples affections.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv24–26 The effect upon the Jewish people of the news…
The effect upon the Jewish people of the news of Nebuchadnezzars approach.
Wax feeble - Are relaxed. It is the opposite of what is said in Jer 6:23 of the enemy, “They lay hold etc.” Terror makes the hands of the Jews hold their weapons with nerveless grasp.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v26 Only son. Let thy grief be extraordinary, Amos viii.…
Only son. Let thy grief be extraordinary, Amos viii. 10., and Zacharias xii. 10.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–26 fame thereof--the report of them.
fame thereof--the report of them.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v26 26. Wallow thyself in ashes — Rather, Besprinkle with…
26. Wallow thyself in ashes — Rather, Besprinkle with ashes, as an expression of abandonment to sorrow. There is cause for mourning as for an only son. The destruction is utter.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–26 24. Jeremiah is here the mouthpiece of his fellow-countrymen…
24. Jeremiah is here the mouthpiece of his fellow-countrymen on the arrival of the news.
fame] i.e. report.
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wax feeble] lit. sink down. Cp. Isa_5:24.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv24–26 (24) We have heard the fame.—Another dramatic impersonation of…
(24) We have heard the fame.—Another dramatic impersonation of the cry of terror from the dwellers in Jerusalem, when they shall hear of the approach of the army. The imagery of the woman in travail is reproduced from Jer_4:31.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv24–26 We have heard the fame thereof. The prophet identifies…
We have heard the fame thereof. The prophet identifies himself (comp., for the same phenomenon, Jer_4:19-21 Jer_10:19, Jer_10:20) with his people, and expresses the general feeling of anxiety and pain. The phraseology of the closing lines reminds us of Isa_13:7, Isa_13:8.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v25 General Information:
General Information:
Jeremiah speaks to the people of Jerusalem. Some versions interpret this as Yahweh speaking to the people of Jerusalem.
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for the swords of the enemy and terror are all around
The phrase "swords of the enemy" represents the enemy with their swords ready to attack. The abstract noun "terror" refers to things that cause people to be frightened and can be translated with an adjective. AT: "For the enemy is everywhere with their swords and everyone else is terrified" (See: Metonymy and Abstract Nouns)
Daughter of my people
Jeremiah shows Yahweh's love for his people by speaking to them as a daughter. See how you translated a similar phrase in Jeremiah 4:11. AT: "My people, you who are like a daughter to me" or "My dear people" (See: Metaphor)
put on sackcloth and roll in ashes
People do these things to show that they are extremely sad. AT: "Show how sad you are by wearing sackcloth and rolling in ashes" (See: Symbolic Action)
mourn with painful sobs as for an only son
Jeremiah compares the people's great sadness to the sadness that a mother feels if her only son dies. AT: "mourn with painful sobs as you would if your only son died" (See: Simile)
for the destroyer will suddenly come upon us
"because the enemy army will suddenly come to attack us"
translationWords
sword
adversary
terror
sackcloth
ash
destroy
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v26 6:26 Jeremiah advised the people to put on burlap…
6:26 Jeremiah advised the people to put on burlap and sit among the ashes to show remorse for their sin and to beg for God’s mercy (Isa 58:5; Amos 8:10; Jon 3:6; Mic 1:10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.