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Jeremiah 50:43

in Jeremiah 50

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

The king of Babylon hath heard the tidings of them, and his hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Jeremiah 50

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The very language used to describe the calamities which Babylon inflicted on Zion is that here employed to describe Babylon's own calamity inflicted by the Medes.

This site's exposition

Behold, an army is coming from the north

on Jeremiah 50:41-46

Verses 41 to 43 repeat almost word for word the invasion of 6:22-24. The words once aimed at the Daughter of Zion now fall on “O Daughter of Babylon.” The king of Babylon hears the report, “and his hands hang limp,” as the people of Jerusalem did in 6:24.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

God can find out such as shall be for terror and destruction to those that are for terror and destruction to others; and those who have dealt cruelly, and have shown no mercy, may expect to be cruelly dealt with, and to find no mercy.

The words behind it

11 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • שָׁמַ֧עhe heard

    shama'H8085 →1159 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • בָּבֶ֛לBabylon

    bavelH894 →262 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • שִׁמְעָ֖םreport their

    shimamH8088 →

  • וְרָפ֣וּand they hung limp

    verafuH7503 →46 times

  • יָדָ֑יוhands his

    yadavH3027 →1618 times

  • צָרָה֙distress

    tzarahH6869 →73 times

  • הֶחֱזִיקַ֔תְהוּit took hold of him

    hechezikathuH2388 →291 times

  • חִ֖ילanguish

    chilH2427 →7 times

  • כַּיּוֹלֵדָֽה׃like <the> [woman] giving birth

    kaiyoledahH3205 →496 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.4 worksJeremiah 49:24Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee. Panic has gripped her; anguish and pain have seized her like a woman in labor.3 worksJeremiah 51:31One 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.3 worksJeremiah 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?3 worksEzekiel 21:7And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”3 worksIsaiah 21:3–4Therefore 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.2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
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.2 worksDaniel 5:5–6At 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,2 worksIsaiah 13:6–8Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.2 worksJeremiah 4:31For 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!”2 worksJeremiah 48:41Kirioth 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.2 worksJeremiah 51:29The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.2 worksJeremiah 51:54“The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!2 worksMicah 4:9Why 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?2 works2 Samuel 4:1Now when Ish-bosheth son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he lost courage, and all Israel was dismayed.2 worksMark 13:8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.2 worksIsaiah 13:7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.2 worksIsaiah 13:8Terror, 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.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 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.

    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.

    • Hosea 8:1

      Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because the people have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law.

    • 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.

    • 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 6:24

      We have heard the report; our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.

  • Through

    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.

    it leads to

    • 2 Chronicles 30:6

      So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read: “Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that…

    • 2 Samuel 18:19–31

      Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”

    • Isaiah 47:11–13

      But disaster will come upon you; you will not know how to charm it away. A calamity will befall you that you will be unable to ward off. Devastation will happen to you suddenly…

About Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem, Rembrandt, 1630. Public domain.
Jeremiah: the study guide →Read Jeremiah 50 →

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

Read on in Jeremiah 50 →