Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Jeremiah 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. Jeremiah is here the mouthpiece of his fellow-countrymen on the arrival of the news.
fame ] i.e. report.
wax feeble ] lit. sink down. Cp. Isa 5:24.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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 Jer 6:23 of the enemy, They lay hold etc. Terror makes the hands of the Jews hold their weapons with nerveless grasp.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble. The prophet personates the peoples affections: q.d. At the very report of the. approach and fierceness of this people we are dismayed and discouraged, our hearts melt within us; all warlike courage is taken from us, 2Sa 4:1; or he modestly reckons himself among the rest.
Anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail; a description of the exquisiteness of their sufferings, Jer 13:21.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. fame thereofthe report ofthem.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
We have heard the fame thereof,…. Meaning not the prophet’s report then, but the rumour of the enemy’s coming from another quarter, at the time he was actually coming. These are the words of the people, upon such a rumour spread; or the words of the prophet, joining himself with them, describing their case, when it would be strongly reported, and they had reason to believe it, that the enemy was just coming, and very near:
our hands wax feeble; have no strength in them, shake and tremble like men that have a palsy, through fear and dread:
anguish hath taken hold of us; tribulation or affliction; or rather anguish of spirit, on hearing the news of the near approach of the enemy:
and pain, as of a woman in travail; which comes suddenly, and is very sharp; and this denotes that their destruction would come suddenly upon them, before they were aware, and be very severe.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jeremiah proceeds in the same strain; for he sets before the eyes of the Jews the judgment of God, and draws them, as it were against their will, into the middle of the scene. And this was done by the prophets, as it has been already said, because by plain words they could not move the hearts of the people on account of their contempt of God, and of the long obduracy in which they had settled. Hence he says, that heard had been the report of the enemy, and that immediately dissolved had their hands When the Prophet spoke, the Jews did not think that their enemies were so near. But the phrase is to be thus explained: “As soon as ye shall hear the report, your hands shall be relaxed, and lay hold on you shall distress.”
The similitude of a woman in travail is often found in Scripture; and what is to be understood in most places is sudden and unexpected pain: but in this place the Prophet refers rather to the violence of pain; though the other meaning, which I have just stated, is not to be excluded; for it is probable, that when he saw that the hardness and obstinacy of the people were so great, he adopted this similitude, in order to shew, that however heedlessly they despised the punishment due to them, it could not yet be avoided, as it would seize them suddenly like that of a woman in childbearing. He afterwards adds —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(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 Jer. 4:31.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 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.
Ver. 24. Our hands wax feeble. ] He modestly reckoneth himself among the rest, though the “arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob,” Gen 49:24 and his “heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord.” Psa 112:7
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
We have: Jer 4:6-9, Jer 4:19-21, Isa 28:19, Eze 21:6, Eze 21:7, Hab 3:16
anguish: Jer 4:31, Jer 13:21, Jer 22:23, Jer 30:6, Jer 49:24, Jer 50:43, Psa 48:6, Pro 1:27, Pro 1:28, Isa 21:3, Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10, 1Th 5:3
Reciprocal: Gen 3:16 – in sorrow 2Sa 4:1 – his hands Isa 26:17 – General Jer 8:18 – my Jer 30:5 – a voice Jer 48:41 – as the heart Jer 49:22 – the heart of the Eze 7:17 – hands Dan 5:9 – changed Mar 13:8 – sorrows
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 6:24. IVe have heard was true both prophetically and historically. The fame of the Babylonians was so great that all had heard of it, and the prophet could hear it with his Inspired ears. Hands wax feeble refers to the state of fear and disappointment that the people of Jerusalem will feel at sight of the Babylonian army.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
6:24 We have heard the report of it: our hands become {t} feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pain, as of a woman in travail.
(t) For fear of the enemy: he speaks this in the person of the Jews.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jeremiah responded that the news of this invasion had made the people physically weak, mentally anxious, and extremely distressed (cf. Jer 4:31). This is a proleptic (anticipatory) description of their reaction when it would happen.