Jeremiah 4:31

31 I hear the cry of a woman in labor, the distress of one delivering her first child. It is the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, her arms stretched out, and moaning, "I'm about to fall into the hands of murderers!"

Jeremiah 4:31 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:31

For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail
So the distress of the Jews, at the time of their destruction, is compared to the sorrows of a woman in travail; and a word, that signifies that is used to express it, ( Matthew 24:8 ) : and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child;
whose time is more difficult, her pains sharper, her anguish greater, and, having less experience, the more impatient: the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself;
her unhappy condition, and miserable circumstances: that spreadeth her hands;
as persons in distress do, and particularly women in travail: saying, woe is me now, for my soul is wearied because of murderers:
these abounded: under the second temple, and was the reason, the Jews say: {m}, of the sanhedrim removing from their usual place in the temple; and why they ceased from the beheading of the red heifer ^F14.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 8. 2.
F14 Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 9.

Jeremiah 4:31 In-Context

29 As the horsemen and archers approach, the people take flight. They hide in the bushes and escape to the cliffs. Every city is deserted; no one remains.

30 And you, devastated one, why dress up in scarlet, deck yourself in gold jewelry, and color your eyes with paint? In vain you get all decked out; your lovers have rejected you and now seek your life.

31 I hear the cry of a woman in labor, the distress of one delivering her first child. It is the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, her arms stretched out, and moaning, "I'm about to fall into the hands of murderers!"