Bible Strands
Jeremiah 48:41
Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through Jeremiah to pronounce impending judgment on Moab immediately after describing an eagle’s descent against the nation. This oracle targets Moab’s fortified cities during a moment of imminent military collapse.
The words — The Hebrew נִלְכְּדָה (nil.ke.Dah) denotes a forced capture, paired with נִתְפָּ֑שָׂה (nit.Pa.sah) for the seizure of defensive positions. The phrase לֵב גִּבּוֹרֵי מוֹאָב (lev gibborei Moav) literally identifies the "heart of Moab’s warriors" as the specific locus of psychological collapse.
The thread — This labor imagery recurs in Isaiah 13:8 and Isaiah 21:3 to describe terror and anguish gripping a target of divine judgment. Jeremiah 6:24 applies the same metaphor to a nation paralyzed by the report of approaching doom.
Why it lands — The text states that Kirioth and Moab’s strongholds fall while its warriors experience the paralyzing dread of childbirth. It demands recognition that military strength cannot prevent the psychological unraveling that follows divine judgment.
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
Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men’s hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 13:8 Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
- 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.
- 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 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?
- Jeremiah 49:22 Look! An eagle will soar and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. In that day the hearts of Edom’s mighty men will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
- Micah 4:9 Why do you now cry aloud? Is there no king among you? Has your counselor perished so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
- Isaiah 26:17 As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
- 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!”
- Jeremiah 49:24 Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.
- Jeremiah 50:43 The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.