Jeremiah 30:5-7

30:5 Yes, ¹  here is what he says:

“You hear cries of panic and of terror;

there is no peace in sight. ² 

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ³ 

Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?

Why then do I see all these strong men

grabbing their stomachs in pain like ⁴  a woman giving birth?

And why do their faces

turn so deathly pale?

30:7 Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! ⁵ 

There has never been any like it.

It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob,

but some of them will be rescued out of it. ⁶ 

[30:5]  ¹ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is functioning here as loosely causal or epexegetical of the preceding introduction. For this usage cf. BDB 473-74 s.v. כִּי 3.c. This nuance borders on that of the intensive use of כִּי. See the discussion in BDB 472 s.v. כִּי note and כִּי 1.e.

[30:5]  ² tn Heb “We have heard the sound of panic and of fear, and there is no peace.” It is generally agreed that the person of the verb presupposes that this is an unintroduced quote of the people.

[30:6]  ³ tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”

[30:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.

[30:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “Alas [or Woe] for that day will be great.” For the use of the particle “Alas” to signal a time of terrible trouble, even to sound the death knell for someone, see the translator’s note on 22:13.

[30:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “It is a time of trouble for Jacob but he will be saved out of it.”