Psalms 48:6

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ¹ 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ² 

Isaiah 43:6-9

43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’

and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’

Bring my sons from distant lands,

and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,

43:7 everyone who belongs to me, ³ 

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed – yes, whom I made!

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,

those who are deaf, even though they have ears!

43:9 All nations gather together,

the peoples assemble.

Who among them announced this?

Who predicted earlier events for us? ⁴ 

Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;

let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’

Isaiah 21:3

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ⁵ 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ⁶  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

Jeremiah 4:31

4:31 In fact, ⁷  I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,

a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.

It is the cry of Daughter Zion ⁸  gasping for breath,

reaching out for help, ⁹  saying, “I am done in! ¹⁰ 

My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Jeremiah 6:24

6:24 The people cry out, ¹¹  “We have heard reports about them!

We have become helpless with fear! ¹² 

Anguish grips us,

agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

Jeremiah 13:21

13:21 What will you say ¹³  when the Lord ¹⁴  appoints as rulers over you those allies

that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? ¹⁵ 

Then anguish and agony will grip you

like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ¹⁶ 

Jeremiah 22:23

22:23 You may feel as secure as a bird

nesting in the cedars of Lebanon.

But oh how you ¹⁷  will groan ¹⁸  when the pains of judgment come on you.

They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby. ¹⁹ 

Hosea 13:13

13:13 The labor pains of a woman will overtake him,

but the baby will lack wisdom;

when the time arrives,

he will not come out of the womb!

Micah 4:9-10

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ²⁰  now shouting so loudly? ²¹ 

Has your king disappeared? ²² 

Has your wise leader ²³  been destroyed?

Is this why ²⁴  pain grips ²⁵  you as if you were a woman in labor?

4:10 Twist and strain, ²⁶  Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor!

For you will leave the city

and live in the open field.

You will go to Babylon,

but there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will deliver ²⁷  you

from the power ²⁸  of your enemies.

[48:6]  ¹ tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[48:6]  ² tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”

[43:7]  ³ tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[43:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

[21:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[4:31]  ⁷ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.

[4:31]  ⁸ sn Jerusalem is personified as a helpless maiden.

[4:31]  ⁹ tn Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.

[4:31]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”

[6:24]  ¹¹ tn These words are not in the text, but, from the context, someone other than God is speaking and is speaking for and to the people (either Jeremiah or the people themselves). These words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[6:24]  ¹² tn Or “We have lost our strength to do battle”; Heb “Our hands hang limp [or helpless at our sides].” According to BDB 951 s.v. רָפָה Qal.2, this idiom is used figuratively for losing heart or energy. The best example of its figurative use of loss of strength or the feeling of helplessness is in Ezek 21:12 where it appears in the context of the heart (courage) melting, the spirit sinking, and the knees becoming like water. For other examples compare 2 Sam 4:1; Zeph 3:16. In Neh 6:9 it is used literally of the builders “dropping their hands from the work” out of fear. The words “with fear” are supplied in the translation because they are implicit in the context.

[13:21]  ¹³ tn Or perhaps more rhetorically equivalent, “Will you not be surprised?”

[13:21]  ¹⁴ tn The words “The Lord” are not in the text. Some commentators make the enemy the subject, but they are spoken of as “them.”

[13:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or “to be rulers.” The translation of these two lines is somewhat uncertain. The sentence structure of these two lines raises problems in translation. The Hebrew text reads: “What will you do when he appoints over you [or punishes you (see BDB 823 s.v. פָּקַד Qal.B.2 for the former, Qal.A.3 for the latter)] and you, yourself, taught them over you friends [or chiefs (see BDB 48 s.v. I אַלּוּף 2 and Ps 55:13 for the former and BDB 49 s.v. II אַלּוּף and Exod 15:15 for the latter)] for a head.” The translation assumes that the clause “and you, yourself, taught them [= made them accustomed, i.e., “prepared”] [to be] over you” is parenthetical coming between the verb “appoint” and its object and object modifier (i.e., “appointed over you allies for rulers”). A quick check of other English versions will show how varied the translation of these lines has been. Most English versions seem to ignore the second “over you” after “you taught them.” Some rearrange the text to get what they think is a sensible meaning. For a fairly thorough treatment see W. McKane, Jeremiah (ICC), 1:308-10.

[13:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Will not pain [here = mental anguish] take hold of you like a woman giving birth.” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer.

[22:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “You who dwell in Lebanon, you who are nested in its cedars, how you….” The metaphor has been interpreted for the sake of clarity. The figure here has often been interpreted of the people of Jerusalem living in paneled houses or living in a city dominated by the temple and palace which were built from the cedars of Lebanon. Some even interpret this as a reference to the king who has been characterized as living in a cedar palace, in a veritable Lebanon (cf. vv. 6-7, 14 and see also the alternate interpretation of 21:13-14). However, the reference to “nesting in the cedars” and the earlier reference to “feeling secure” suggests that the figure is rather like that of Ezek 31:6 and Dan 4:12. See also Hab 2:9 where a related figure is used. The forms for “you who dwell” and “you who are nested” in the literal translation are feminine singular participles referring again to personified Jerusalem. (The written forms of these participles are to be explained as participles with a hireq campaginis according to GKC 253 §90.m. The use of the participle before the preposition is to be explained according to GKC 421 §130.a.)

[22:23]  ¹⁸ tn The verb here should be identified as a Niphal perfect of the verb אָנַח (’anakh) with the א (aleph) left out (so BDB 336 s.v. חָנַן Niph and GKC 80 §23.f, n. 1). The form is already translated that way by the Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions.

[22:23]  ¹⁹ sn This simile has already been used in Jer 4:31; 6:24 in conjunction with Zion/Jerusalem’s judgment.

[4:9]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.

[4:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ²² tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ²³ tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.

[4:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[4:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[4:10]  ²⁶ tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”

[4:10]  ²⁷ tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.