Bible Strands
Jeremiah 30:6
Ask now, and see: Can a male give birth? Why then do I see every man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor and every face turned pale?
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Jeremiah relays a rhetorical inquiry from the LORD to Judah during a period of impending national crisis and panic.
The words — The Hebrew terms זָכָר (za.Khar, "a male") and יֹלֵ֖ד (yo.Led, "giving birth") establish an impossible biological premise, while מַדּוּעַ֩ (ma.du.a', "why?") frames the rhetorical question.
The thread — The description of pale faces and labor-like anguish parallels Joel 2:6 and Nahum 2:10, and the distress cry aligns with Jeremiah 4:31.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that the people's terror is disproportionate and unnatural, pointing to a divine judgment that will be followed by deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 4:31 For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”
- Joel 2:6 Nations writhe in horror before them; every face turns pale.
- Nahum 2:10 She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
- Isaiah 21:3 Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
- Psalms 48:6 Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 6:24 We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 22:23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
- Hosea 13:13 Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.