Jeremiah 49:22

22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

Jeremiah 49:22 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:22

Behold, he shall come up, and fly as the eagle
The Targum is,

``behold, as an eagle comes up and flies, so shall a king come up with his army;''

the king of Babylon with his army, compared to an eagle for his swiftness and voraciousness, as before to a lion for his strength and fierceness: and spread his wings over Bozrah;
besiege that city, invest it, and seize upon it; very fitly are the wings of an army expressed by the wings of this bird, denoting both their extent and force; the same is said concerning Moab, ( Jeremiah 48:40 ) ; and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Moab be as the
heart of a woman in her pangs;
when just ready to be delivered; not only weak and timorous, but full of anguish, and: quite dispirited; (See Gill on Jeremiah 48:41).

Jeremiah 49:22 In-Context

20 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

21 At the sound of their fall the earth will quake; their cry will resound to the Red Sea.

22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

23 Concerning Damascus: “Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard a bad report; they are agitated like the sea; their anxiety cannot be calmed.

24 Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.