Yirmeyah 4:31

31 For I have heard a kol (outcry) like that of a woman in travail, and in labor pain like that of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of Bat Tziyon, that waileth, that stretcheth out her hands, saying, Oy nah li (Woe is me now)! for my nefesh is weary because of murderers.

Yirmeyah 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.

Yirmeyah 4:31 In-Context

29 Kol HaIr shall flee at the noise of the parash and the romeh keshet (the archer); they shall run into thickets, and climb up among the kefim (rocks); every city shall be deserted, and not an ish dwell therein.

30 And thou, O plundered one [Jerusalem], what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with jewelry of zahav, though thou paintest thy eyes with cosmetics, in vain thou adornest thyself; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy nefesh.

31 For I have heard a kol (outcry) like that of a woman in travail, and in labor pain like that of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of Bat Tziyon, that waileth, that stretcheth out her hands, saying, Oy nah li (Woe is me now)! for my nefesh is weary because of murderers.