Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see whether a man does travail with child: why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
The setting
Babylon, ~594 BC. Jeremiah prophesies to exiled Judeans living in refugee camps along irrigation canals. Modern-day Iraq near Hillah.
The emotion here: grief-stricken but compelled to warn
The original word
yālad (ילד) — to give birth, used here ironically of men experiencing terror
Why it matters
Men in ancient times never witnessed childbirth - they were excluded, making this image especially shocking
Read with care
What most readers miss in Jeremiah 30:6
The rhetorical question 'Ask now and see' - God is saying this is so impossible it proves the terror is supernatural
Common misconceptionPeople think this is about women and childbirth, but it's actually about strong men being reduced to helpless terror - something unthinkable in ancient patriarchal culture.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Jeremiah 30:6
Bible Genome reading
Jeremiah 30:6 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Jeremiah 30:6 comes from the book of Jeremiah, written during the Exile period. The dominant emotion in this verse is anxious, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is urgent. It belongs to the prophecy genre of biblical literature. Key themes include terror, distress, unusual imagery. Notable phrases: man does travail with child; hands on his waist; woman in travail. This verse contains prophecy.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same anxious
“And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”
— 2 Timothy 3:12
“The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?"”
— Acts 19:15
“I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'”
— Acts 22:7
“When we had all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is har…”
— Acts 26:14
Your reflection
What does Jeremiah 30:6 mean to you, today?
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