Jeremiah 49:24

24 Damascus staggers about; she tries to flee, but panic overwhelms her. She's gripped by anguish and pain, like a woman in labor.

Jeremiah 49:24 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 49:24

Damascus is waxed feeble
Or, "is become remiss" ^F7; her hands hang down, not being able through fear and fright to lift them up against the enemy; that is, the inhabitants of Damascus, as the Targum: [and] turneth herself to flee;
instead of going out to meet the enemy, the inhabitants of this city meditated a flight, and turned their backs upon him in order to flee from him, and escape falling into his hands: and fear hath seized on [her]:
or, "she seized on fear" ^F8; instead of seizing on arms, and laying hold on them to defend herself with, she seized on that; or however that seized on her, and made her quite unfit to stand up in her own defence: anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in travail;
(See Gill on Jeremiah 49:22); A phrase often used to express the sudden and inevitable destruction of a people, and their distress and inability to help themselves.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (htpr) "remissa erit", Junius & Tremellius; "remissa est", Cocceius, Piscator; "remissa facta est", Schmidt.
F8 (hqyzxh jjrw) "et apprehendit tremorem", Munster; "et horrorem apprehendit", Schmidt; "et horrorem febrilem prehendet", Junius & Tremellius; "apprehendet", Piscator.

Jeremiah 49:24 In-Context

22 Look! One who mounts up and soars like an eagle, who swoops down and spreads his wings over Bozrah. On that day, the heart of every soldier from Edom will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.

23 Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad lose heart when they hear the bad news. They are trembling with fear, like the raging sea, which can't become quiet.

24 Damascus staggers about; she tries to flee, but panic overwhelms her. She's gripped by anguish and pain, like a woman in labor.

25 Forsaken is the renowned city, city of my delight.

26 Yes, her young men will fall in the streets, and her soldiers will be silent on that day, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.