Jeremiah 49:24

My Notes

What Does Jeremiah 49:24 Mean?

"Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail." Damascus — the ancient, proud capital of Syria — becomes weak, turns to flee, and is seized by fear. The city is personified as a woman in labor: gripped by anguish and sorrows that she can't escape, experiencing contractions that are involuntary and overwhelming. The proud city is reduced to a laboring woman unable to control what's happening to her body.

The phrase "waxed feeble" (raphetah — she has become slack, gone limp) describes the loss of strength: Damascus was famous for its power. Now its strength has gone limp — like arms that drop to the side, like legs that can't hold weight. The feebleness is total. The strength that defined Damascus has drained away.

The "as a woman in travail" (kayo'ledah — like a birthing woman) compares the city's agony to labor: the contractions are involuntary, the pain is escalating, the grip of the process is inescapable. Damascus can't stop what's happening any more than a woman in labor can stop the contractions. The anguish has seized the city, and the city cannot release itself.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What strength in your life has gone unexpectedly limp?
• 2.How does the labor metaphor describe anguish that you can't control or stop?
• 3.What does the proudest city fleeing teach about the vulnerability of human power?
• 4.What anguish has 'seized' you — gripping involuntarily like contractions?

Devotional

Damascus goes limp. Damascus turns to run. Fear SEIZES her — gripping like contractions grip a woman in labor. The proud capital that never flinched is now weak, fleeing, and seized by an agony she can't control.

The 'waxed feeble' is the strongest city becoming the weakest: Damascus was ancient even in Jeremiah's day — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its strength was legendary. Its power was assumed. And now: feeble. Slack. Limp. The muscles that held the city upright have gone soft. The strength has drained like water from a broken jar.

The 'turneth herself to flee' is the proud city in full retreat: Damascus doesn't surrender. It FLEES. The city that never ran from anything turns its back and tries to escape. The fleeing is instinctive — the body does what the mind can't process. The flight is the confession that the fight is over.

The 'as a woman in travail' is the image of inescapable agony: a woman in labor can't stop the process. The contractions come whether she wants them or not. The pain escalates on its own schedule. The body does what the body does, regardless of the will. Damascus is THAT woman — gripped by an agony that's happening to her, not chosen by her. The anguish has seized the city, and the city can't release itself from the grip.

What proud strength in your life has gone limp — and what anguish has seized you with labor-like grip?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.