Jeremiah 4:31

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying,“I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Additional Resources

Referenced Verses

  • Isa 1:15 : 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.
  • Lam 1:17 : 17 פ(Pe)The Prophet Speaks: Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors have become his enemies. Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage in their midst.
  • Isa 13:8 : 8 They panic– cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red.
  • Jer 13:21 : 21 What will you say when the LORD appoints as rulers over you those allies that you, yourself, had actually prepared as such? Then anguish and agony will grip you like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
  • Jer 14:18 : 18 If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest– they go peddling in the land but they are not humbled.’”
  • Jer 15:18 : 18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish? Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound? Will you let me down when I need you like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”
  • Jer 18:21 : 21 So let their children die of starvation. Let them be cut down by the sword. Let their wives lose their husbands and children. Let the older men die of disease and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
  • Jer 22:23 : 23 You may feel as secure as a bird nesting in the cedars of Lebanon. But oh how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you. They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.
  • Jer 30:6 : 6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?
  • Jer 45:2 : 2 “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch.
  • Jer 48:41 : 41 Her towns will be captured. Her fortresses will be taken. At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened like a woman in labor.
  • Jer 49:22 : 22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings, a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah. At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful as a woman in labor.”
  • Jer 49:24 : 24 The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.
  • Jer 50:43 : 43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.
  • Isa 21:3 : 3 For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
  • Isa 42:14 : 14 “I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp.
  • Jer 6:2 : 2 I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.
  • Jer 6:23-24 : 23 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride forth on their horses. Lined up in formation like men going into battle to attack you, Daughter Zion.’” 24 The people cry out,“We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
  • Jer 10:19 : 19 And I cried out,“We are doomed! Our wound is severe! We once thought,‘This is only an illness. And we will be able to bear it!’
  • Isa 6:5 : 5 I said,“Woe to me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”
  • Gen 27:46 : 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac,“I am deeply depressed because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!”
  • Job 10:1 : 1 An Appeal for Revelation“I am weary of my life; I will complain without restraint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
  • Ps 120:5 : 5 How miserable I am! For I have lived temporarily in Meshech; I have resided among the tents of Kedar.
  • Lam 1:20 : 20 ר(Resh) Look, O LORD! I am distressed; my stomach is in knots! My heart is pounding inside me. Yes, I was terribly rebellious! Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; Inside the house death is present.
  • Lam 2:21 : 21 ש(Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy.
  • Ezek 9:5-6 : 5 While I listened, he said to the others,“Go through the city after him and strike people down; do not let your eye pity nor spare anyone! 6 Old men, young men, young women, little children, and women– wipe them out! But do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary!” So they began with the elders who were at the front of the temple.
  • Ezek 23:46-47 : 46 “For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Bring up an army against them and subject them to terror and plunder. 47 That army will pelt them with stones and slash them with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters and burn their houses.
  • Hos 13:13 : 13 The labor pains of a woman will overtake him, but the baby will lack wisdom; when the time arrives, he will not come out of the womb!
  • Mic 7:1 : 1 Micah Laments Judah’s Sin Woe is me! For I am like those gathering fruit, and those harvesting grapes, when there is no grape cluster to eat, and no fresh figs that my stomach craves.
  • Matt 21:5 : 5 “Tell the people of Zion,‘Look, your king is coming to you, unassuming and seated on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
  • 1 Cor 9:16 : 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
  • 1 Thess 5:3 : 3 Now when they are saying,“There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Mic 4:9-11
    3 verses
    82%

    9Jerusalem, why are you now shouting so loudly? Has your king disappeared? Has your wise leader been destroyed? Is this why pain grips you as if you were a woman in labor?

    10Twist and strain, Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor! For you will leave the city and live in the open field. You will go to Babylon, but there you will be rescued. There the LORD will deliver you from the power of your enemies.

    11Many nations have now assembled against you. They say,“Jerusalem must be desecrated, so we can gloat over Zion!”

  • 24The people cry out,“We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!

  • Lam 2:10-13
    4 verses
    78%

    10י(Yod) The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dirt on their heads; They have dressed in sackcloth. Jerusalem’s young women stare down at the ground.

    11כ(Kaf) My eyes are worn out from weeping; my stomach is in knots. My heart is poured out on the ground due to the destruction of my helpless people; children and infants faint in the town squares.

    12ל(Lamed) Children say to their mothers,“Where are food and drink?” They faint like a wounded warrior in the city squares. They die slowly in their mothers’ arms.

    13מ(Mem) With what can I equate you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter Jerusalem? To what can I liken you so that I might comfort you, O Virgin Daughter Zion? Your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can heal you?

  • Lam 1:16-18
    3 verses
    77%

    16ע(Ayin) I weep because of these things; my eyes flow with tears. For there is no one in sight who can comfort me or encourage me. My children are desolated because an enemy has prevailed.

    17פ(Pe)The Prophet Speaks: Zion spread out her hands, but there is no one to comfort her. The LORD has issued a decree against Jacob; his neighbors have become his enemies. Jerusalem has become like filthy garbage in their midst.

    18צ(Tsade)Jerusalem Speaks: The LORD is right to judge me! Yes, I rebelled against his commands. Please listen, all you nations, and look at my suffering! My young women and men have gone into exile.

  • 3For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.

  • 4So I say:“Don’t look at me! I am weeping bitterly. Don’t try to console me concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.”

  • Isa 26:17-18
    2 verses
    76%

    17As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver and strains and cries out because of her labor pains, so were we because of you, O LORD.

    18We were pregnant, we strained, we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We cannot produce deliverance on the earth; people to populate the world are not born.

  • Jer 30:5-6
    2 verses
    76%

    5Yes, here is what he says:“You hear cries of panic and of terror; there is no peace in sight.

    6Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?

  • Jer 9:18-20
    3 verses
    76%

    18I said,“Indeed, let them come quickly and sing a song of mourning for us. Let them wail loudly until tears stream from our own eyes and our eyelids overflow with water.

    19For the sound of wailing is soon to be heard in Zion,‘We are utterly ruined! We are completely disgraced! For we have left our land! For our houses have been torn down!’”

    20I said,“So now, you wailing women, listen to the LORD’s message. Open your ears to the message from his mouth. Teach your daughters this mournful song, and let every woman teach her neighbor this lament.

  • Lam 1:1-4
    4 verses
    76%

    1¶ The Prophet Speaks:א(Alef) Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer!

    2ב(Bet) She weeps bitterly at night; tears stream down her cheeks. She has no one to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.

    3ג(Gimel) Judah has departed into exile under affliction and harsh oppression. She lives among the nations; she has found no resting place. All who pursued her overtook her in narrow straits.

    4ד(Dalet) The roads to Zion mourn because no one travels to the festivals. All her city gates are deserted; her priests groan. Her virgins grieve; she is in bitter anguish!

  • 19These double disasters confronted you. But who feels sorry for you? Destruction and devastation, famine and sword. But who consoles you?

  • 23You may feel as secure as a bird nesting in the cedars of Lebanon. But oh how you will groan when the pains of judgment come on you. They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.

  • 9The mother who had seven children will grow faint. All the breath will go out of her. Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life. It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day. She will suffer shame and humiliation. I will cause any of them who are still left alive to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,” says the LORD.

  • 14“I have been inactive for a long time; I kept quiet and held back. Like a woman in labor I groan; I pant and gasp.

  • Lam 1:11-12
    2 verses
    75%

    11כ(Kaf) All her people groaned as they searched for a morsel of bread. They exchanged their valuables for just enough food to stay alive. Jerusalem Speaks:“Look, O LORD! Consider that I have become worthless!”

    12ל(Lamed) Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by on the road? Look and see! Is there any pain like mine? The Lord has afflicted me, he has inflicted it on me when he burned with anger.

  • 10י(Yod) The hands of tenderhearted women cooked their own children, who became their food, when my people were destroyed.

  • 19I hear my dear people crying out throughout the length and breadth of the land. They are crying,‘Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her divine King no longer there?’” The LORD answers,“Why then do they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

  • 17Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come“Tell these people this, Jeremiah:‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound.

  • 43The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear when he hears news of their coming. Anguish will grip him, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby.

  • 26Her gates will mourn and lament; deprived of her people, she will sit on the ground.

  • 26So I said,“Oh, my dear people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with painful sobs as though you had lost your only child. For any moment now that destructive army will come against us.”

  • 30And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction, you accomplish nothing by wearing a beautiful dress, decking yourself out in jewels of gold, and putting on eye shadow! You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers spurn you. They want to kill you.

  • 2I will destroy Daughter Zion, who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.

  • 21My heart is crushed because my dear people are being crushed. I go about crying and grieving. I am overwhelmed with dismay.

  • Lam 2:19-21
    3 verses
    73%

    19ק(Qof) Get up! Cry out in the night when the night watches start! Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord! Lift up your hands to him for your children’s lives; they are fainting from hunger at every street corner.

    20ר(Resh)Jerusalem Speaks: Look, O LORD! Consider! Whom have you ever afflicted like this? Should women eat their offspring, their healthy infants? Should priest and prophet be killed in the Lord’s sanctuary?

    21ש(Sin/Shin) The young boys and old men lie dead on the ground in the streets. My young women and my young men have fallen by the sword. You killed them when you were angry; you slaughtered them without mercy.

  • 24The people of Damascus will lose heart and turn to flee. Panic will grip them. Pain and anguish will seize them like a woman in labor.

  • 6ו(Vav) All of Daughter Zion’s splendor has departed. Her leaders became like deer; they found no pasture, so they were too exhausted to escape from the hunter.

  • 19I said,“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach! I writhe in anguish. Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds within me. I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet; the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!

  • 19Then I said,“LORD, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

  • 2“The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

  • 10Destruction, devastation, and desolation! Hearts faint; knees tremble; every stomach churns, all their faces have turned pale!

  • 14The Lord Remembers Zion“Zion said,‘The LORD has abandoned me, the Lord has forgotten me.’

  • 23Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people.