Jeremiah 30:6
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?
Original Language Analysis
שַׁאֲלוּ
Ask
H7592
שַׁאֲלוּ
Ask
Strong's:
H7592
Word #:
1 of 18
to inquire; by implication, to request; by extension, to demand
נָ֣א
H4994
נָ֣א
Strong's:
H4994
Word #:
2 of 18
'i pray', 'now', or 'then'; added mostly to verbs (in the imperative or future), or to interjections, occasionally to an adverb or conjunction
רָאִ֨יתִי
wherefore do I see
H7200
רָאִ֨יתִי
wherefore do I see
Strong's:
H7200
Word #:
3 of 18
to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
אִם
H518
אִם
Strong's:
H518
Word #:
4 of 18
used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not
כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה
as a woman in travail
H3205
כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה
as a woman in travail
Strong's:
H3205
Word #:
5 of 18
to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
זָכָ֑ר
whether a man
H2145
זָכָ֑ר
whether a man
Strong's:
H2145
Word #:
6 of 18
properly, remembered, i.e., a male (of man or animals, as being the most noteworthy sex)
מַדּוּעַ֩
H4069
מַדּוּעַ֩
Strong's:
H4069
Word #:
7 of 18
what (is) known?; i.e., (by implication) (adverbially) why?
רָאִ֨יתִי
wherefore do I see
H7200
רָאִ֨יתִי
wherefore do I see
Strong's:
H7200
Word #:
8 of 18
to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative)
כָל
H3605
כָל
Strong's:
H3605
Word #:
9 of 18
properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
גֶּ֜בֶר
every man
H1397
גֶּ֜בֶר
every man
Strong's:
H1397
Word #:
10 of 18
properly, a valiant man or warrior; generally, a person simply
יָדָ֤יו
with his hands
H3027
יָדָ֤יו
with his hands
Strong's:
H3027
Word #:
11 of 18
a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from h3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great v
עַל
H5921
עַל
Strong's:
H5921
Word #:
12 of 18
above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications
כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה
as a woman in travail
H3205
כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה
as a woman in travail
Strong's:
H3205
Word #:
14 of 18
to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּ
are turned
H2015
וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּ
are turned
Strong's:
H2015
Word #:
15 of 18
to turn about or over; by implication, to change, overturn, return, pervert
כָל
H3605
כָל
Strong's:
H3605
Word #:
16 of 18
properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
Cross References
Jeremiah 4:31For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.Nahum 2:10She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.Joel 2:6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.Isaiah 21:3Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.Psalms 48:6Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.Jeremiah 22:23O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.1 Thessalonians 5:3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.Hosea 13:13The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth of children.Isaiah 29:22Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.
Historical Context
Jeremiah prophesied during Jerusalem's death throes—siege, starvation, cannibalism (Lamentations 2:20, 4:10). The image captures warriors and nobles reduced to helpless terror. This became paradigmatic for describing end-time tribulation (Matthew 24:21-22).
Questions for Reflection
- How does reframing catastrophe as birthpangs change your perspective on suffering with purpose?
- What impossible situations in your life might be labor pains of something new God is birthing?
- How do you maintain hope when faced with fears that reduce you to complete helplessness?
Related Resources
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Analysis & Commentary
Whether a man doth travail with child? (הֲיֹלֵד זָכָר)—This shocking rhetorical question uses impossible imagery to describe unprecedented anguish. Men (zakar, male) experiencing childbirth (yalad, to bear) violates nature, emphasizing the unnaturalness of 'Jacob's trouble.' Warriors, trained for battle, reduced to birth-labor posture—hands on loins, faces pale—depicts total helplessness.
All faces are turned into paleness (וְנֶהְפְּכוּ כָּל־פָּנִים לְיֵרָקוֹן)—The Hebrew yeraqon (paleness, greenish-yellow) describes the color of mortal terror. This isn't ordinary fear but existential dread before inescapable judgment. Yet Jeremiah frames catastrophe in birth imagery—pain with purpose, labor that produces life. The 'trouble' (צָרָה, tsarah, v. 7) isn't merely punitive but productive, birthpangs of national restoration.