We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This verse doesn't just describe fear; it captures a profound helplessness where the physical body reacts before conscious thought fully grasps the danger. The "hands fall helpless" shows how terror can paralyze even the most basic functions, turning strength to weakness as the body prepares for something utterly overwhelming, like the unavoidable pain of childbirth.
We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jeremiah is channeling the panic of Jerusalem's people as they receive terrifying news of an approaching enemy army. This cry of helplessness, filled with anguish and pain like a woman in labor, comes right after God has declared His judgment upon a rebellious and corrupt people who have ignored His warnings. The verses immediately following will urge them not to venture outside the city walls due to the pervasive fear and the danger from the enemy.
Ever felt like the world stopped when you heard terrible news? This verse captures that exact feeling, showing how fear can physically paralyze us.
Jeremiah is speaking in the voice of the people, describing their reaction to the terrifying report of an approaching enemy army.
Frozen by Fear
This vividly shows how news can hit us physically and emotionally, leaving us feeling weak and overwhelmed, even before the actual danger arrives.
The Bible uses intense imagery to describe suffering. This verse compares the nation's dread to something universally understood: childbirth.
The phrase 'pain as of a woman in labor' is a powerful metaphor that communicates several crucial aspects of the impending doom:
Sudden and Severe
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This imagery emphasizes that the suffering awaiting Judah will be intense, sudden, and ultimately unavoidable.
Understand the original words
tsarah · Hebrew Noun
Intense mental or physical distress or suffering, often used in prophetic literature to describe the experience of divine judgment or overwhelming calamity.
chilah · Hebrew Noun
A common biblical metaphor for a time of sudden, intense, and inescapable suffering or cataclysmic judgment.
This verse captures the sheer terror and helplessness of Jerusalem's people as they hear news of the approaching Babylonian army, mirroring the dread experienced during past invasions like the Assyrian siege, and foreshadowing the ultimate destruction of the city.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
The Assyrian army under Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, causing immense fear and suffering among the inhabitants. This event served as a precedent for future sieges and the anxiety they produced.
626 BC
Jeremiah Begins Prophesying
Jeremiah is called by God to prophesy. He delivers messages of impending judgment to Judah and Jerusalem during a period of moral and spiritual decay.
c. 605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacks Judah and deports a group of prominent citizens, including Daniel, to Babylon. This marks the beginning of Judah's Babylonian exile.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Babylonian forces besiege Jerusalem and deport King Jehoiachin and many more skilled individuals to Babylon. This further destabilizes the kingdom.
586 BC— this verse
Fall of Jerusalem and Destruction of the Temple
Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, destroys the city and the Temple, and deports the majority of the remaining population to Babylon. This is the catastrophic end of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
This verse vividly echoes Jeremiah 6:24's imagery of childbirth pain, showing a consistent theme of sudden, intense distress striking the people of Judah.
Isaiah 13:7-8Both passages describe a profound sense of dread and physical anguish, using the powerful metaphor of a woman in labor to convey the overwhelming nature of impending destruction.
Matthew 24:8Jesus himself uses this identical phrase, 'pangs of birth,' to describe the beginnings of sorrows, drawing a clear parallel between the immediate crisis faced by Jerusalem and the larger signs of the end times.
Jeremiah 49:22This passage describes the enemy's approach with similar imagery of fear and helplessness, highlighting the widespread terror that the news of invasion caused.
ellicottJeremiah 6:24: "We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail."
(24) We have heard the fame. —Another dramatic impersonation of the cry of terror from the dwellers in Jerusalem, when they shall hear of the approach of the army. The imagery of the woman in travail is reproduced from Jeremiah 4:31 . Jeremiah 6:25Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.(25) The f…
barnesJeremiah 6:24: "We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail."
The effect upon the Jewish people of the news of Nebuchadnezzars approach. Wax feeble - Are relaxed. It is the opposite of what is said in Jeremiah 6:23 of the enemy, "They lay hold etc." Terror makes the hands of the Jews hold their weapons with nerveless grasp.
This verse doesn't just describe fear; it captures a profound helplessness where the physical body reacts before conscious thought fully grasps the danger. The "hands fall helpless" shows how terror can paralyze even the most basic functions, turning strength to weakness as the body prepares for something utterly overwhelming, like the unavoidable pain of childbirth.
Jeremiah is channeling the panic of Jerusalem's people as they receive terrifying news of an approaching enemy army. This cry of helplessness, filled with anguish and pain like a woman in labor, comes right after God has declared His judgment upon a rebellious and corrupt people who have ignored His warnings. The verses immediately following will urge them not to venture outside the city walls due to the pervasive fear and the danger from the enemy.
Jeremiah is channeling the panic of Jerusalem's people as they receive terrifying news of an approaching enemy army. This cry of helplessness, filled with anguish and pain like a woman in labor, comes right after God has declared His judgment upon a rebellious and corrupt people who have ignored His warnings. The verses immediately following will urge them not to venture outside the city walls due to the pervasive fear and the danger from the enemy.
"We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor." — This verse doesn't just describe fear; it captures a profound helplessness where the physical body reacts before conscious thought fully grasps the danger. The "hands fall helpless" shows how terro…
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Last reviewed October 2026