Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers this oracle against Babylon during the announcement of a northern coalition's approach. The statement describes the Babylonian king's physical paralysis upon receiving news of the advancing army.
The words — The text highlights שָׁמַ֧ע (sha.Ma'), meaning he heard, and רָפ֣וּ (ra.Fu), meaning hung limp, to describe the king's sudden helplessness. It also records צָרָה (tza.Rah), translated as distress, which seizes him with labor-like pain.
The thread — The labor pain imagery appears in Jeremiah 49:24 regarding Damascus and parallels the courier reports described in Jeremiah 51:31. The sudden divine judgment theme connects to the warning in Isaiah 13:6 about the Day of the LORD bringing destruction.
Why it lands — The text records the king's helplessness to demonstrate that human authority fails before divine judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that no earthly power can withstand the announced conquest.
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
The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
Cross-references
- 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 51:31 One courier races to meet another, and messenger follows messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- 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 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.
- Daniel 5:5 At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,