Jeremiah 48:41
in Jeremiah 48Kirioth 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Kerioth is taken, and the strongholds are seized, and the heart of the mighty men of Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 48
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab
on Jeremiah 48:40-47
Escape is closed: “Terror and pit and snare,” the same chain Isaiah 24:17-18 uses of the whole earth. The “fire” from Heshbon and “flame from within Sihon” take up the old song of Numbers 21:28. The last verse turns: “Yet in the latter days I will restore Moab from captivity.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), so that all their strength stood them in no stead; and this made the hearts even of their mighty men to fail, for they had not time to recollect the considerations that might have animated them. It requires a more than ordinary degree of courage not to be afraid of sudden fear. It is an utter destruction, and such as lays Moab all in ruins: Moab is spoiled (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Kerioth is taken,....
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נִלְכְּדָה֙ | nilkedah | it will be captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| הַקְּרִיּ֔וֹת | hakeriyot | <the> Kerioth | H7152 → | |
| וְהַמְּצָד֖וֹת | vehametzadot | and the strongholds | H4679 → | |
| נִתְפָּ֑שָׂה | nitpasah | it will be seized | H8610 → | 65 times |
| וְֽ֠הָיָה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לֵ֞ב | lev | [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| גִּבּוֹרֵ֤י | giborei | [the] warriors of | H1368 → | 158 times |
| מוֹאָב֙ | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כְּלֵ֖ב | kelev | like [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| אִשָּׁ֥ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| מְצֵרָֽה׃ | metzerah | in labor | H6887 → | 54 times |
נִלְכְּדָה֙it will be captured
nilkedahH3920 →121 times
הַקְּרִיּ֔וֹת<the> Kerioth
hakeriyotH7152 →
וְהַמְּצָד֖וֹתand the strongholds
vehametzadotH4679 →
נִתְפָּ֑שָׂהit will be seized
nitpasahH8610 →65 times
וְֽ֠הָיָהand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לֵ֞ב[the] heart of
levH3820 →595 times
גִּבּוֹרֵ֤י[the] warriors of
giboreiH1368 →158 times
מוֹאָב֙Moab
moavH4124 →181 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
כְּלֵ֖בlike [the] heart of
kelevH3820 →595 times
אִשָּׁ֥הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
מְצֵרָֽה׃in labor
metzerahH6887 →54 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 30:6Ask 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?
it leads to
- Nahum 2:10
She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 6:24
We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joel 2:6
Nations writhe in horror before them; every face turns pale.
- 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…
- 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.
- Nahum 2:10
Through
Isaiah 21:3Therefore 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.
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 13:8
Through
Jeremiah 49:22Look! 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
- Jeremiah 48:40–41
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
