Jeremiah 49:22

22 Lo! as an eagle he shall ascend, and fly out, and he shall spread abroad his wings on Bozrah; and the heart of the strong men of Idumea shall be in that day, as the heart of a woman travailing of child. (Lo! he shall ascend like an eagle, and fly out, and he shall spread abroad his wings over Bozrah; and the hearts of the strong men of Edom shall be on that day, like the heart of a woman in labour/like the heart of a woman giving birth.)

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 ye the counsel of the Lord, which he took to Edom, and his thoughts, which he thought of the dwellers of Teman. If the little (ones) of the flock cast not them down, if they destroy not with them the dwelling of them, else no man give credence to me. (And so hear ye the counsel, or the advice, of the Lord, which he brought against Edom, and his thoughts, which he thought against the inhabitants of Teman. The little ones of the flock shall be cast down, or carried off, and they shall destroy their dwelling places with them, else no one give credence to me/or else no one believe me.)
21 The earth was moved of the voice of [the] falling of them; the cry of voice thereof was heard in the Red Sea. (The earth was shaken at the sound of their falling; the cries of their voices were heard at the Red Sea, or at the Sea of Reeds.)
22 Lo! as an eagle he shall ascend, and fly out, and he shall spread abroad his wings on Bozrah; and the heart of the strong men of Idumea shall be in that day, as the heart of a woman travailing of child. (Lo! he shall ascend like an eagle, and fly out, and he shall spread abroad his wings over Bozrah; and the hearts of the strong men of Edom shall be on that day, like the heart of a woman in labour/like the heart of a woman giving birth.)
23 To Damascus. Hamath is shamed, and Arpad, for they heard a full wicked hearing; they were troubled in the sea, for anguish they might not have rest. (About Damascus. Hamath and Arpad be confused, for they heard a very wicked report; they were troubled like a restless sea, they could not take rest from their anguish.)
24 Damascus was discomforted, it was turned into flight; trembling took it, anguishes and sorrows held it, as a woman travailing of child (like a woman in labour/like a woman giving birth).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.