3 The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the Lord.”

4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘Cries of fear are heard—

terror, not peace.

6 Ask and see:

Can a man bear children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,

every face turned deathly pale?

7 How awful that day will be!

No other will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be saved out of it.

3 For behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5 “Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

6 Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

7 Alas! That day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

3 For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

4 And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, Of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, And all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; But he shall be saved out of it.

3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

4 This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord says:

“I hear cries of fear;

there is terror and no peace.

6 Now let me ask you a question:

Do men give birth to babies?

Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,

hands pressed against their sides

like a woman in labor?

7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror.

It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.

Yet in the end they will be saved!

3 The days will come when I will bring Israel and Judah back from captivity,” says the Lord. “I will return them to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will own it!” says the Lord.

4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah: 5 This is what the Lord said:

“We hear people crying from fear.

They are afraid; there is no peace.

6 Ask this question, and consider it:

A man cannot have a baby.

So why do I see every strong man

holding his stomach in pain like a woman having a baby?

Why is everyone’s face turning white like a dead man’s face?

7 This will be a terrible day!

There will never be another time like this.

This is a time of great trouble for the people of Jacob,

but they will be saved from it.”

3 For, lo, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will turn again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

4 And these are the words that Jehovah spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

3 For behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will turn the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Israel and concerning Judah; 5 for thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, there is fear, and no peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see, whether a male doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

3 The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity. I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it.” 

4 This is the message that the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says: 

“We hear cries of fear, cries of panic, not cries of peace. 

6 Ask now, and see: Can a man give birth to a child? 

Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain 

like a woman giving birth to a child? 

Why has every face turned pale? 

7 How terrible that day will be! 

There will be no other day like it. 

It will be a time of calamity for the descendants of Jacob, 

but they will be rescued from it. 

3 for the days are certainly coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah” —the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore them to the land I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it.”

4 These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. 5 Yes, this is what the Lord says:

We have heard a cry of terror,

of dread—there is no peace.

6 Ask and see

whether a male can give birth.

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor

and every face turned pale?

7 How awful that day will be!

There will be none like it!

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be delivered out of it.

3 For the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they shall take possession of it.

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5 Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

6 Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

7 Alas! that day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be rescued from it.

3 For look, days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh, ‘and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors and they will take possession of it.’ ”

4 Now these are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 “For thus says Yahweh:

‘We have heard a sound of trembling,

terror, and there is no peace.

6 Ask please and see whether a male can bear a child.

Why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his loins like a woman giving birth?

And why are all their faces changed to paleness?

7 Alas! For that day is great,

there is none like it.

And it is a time of distress for Jacob,

yet from it he will be delivered.

3 A new day is coming,’ ” announces the Lord. “ ‘At that time I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from where they have been taken as prisoners. I will bring them back to this land. Long ago I gave it to their people to have as their own,’ ” says the Lord.

4 Here are the words the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah. He said, 5 “I am the Lord. I say,

“ ‘Cries of fear are heard.

There is terror. There isn’t any peace.

6 Ask and see.

Can a man give birth to children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach?

Each of them is acting like a woman having a baby.

Every face is as pale as death.

7 How awful that day will be!

No other day will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for the people of Jacob.

But they will be saved out of it.

3 ‘For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’ ”

4 Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

5 “For thus says the Lord,

‘I have heard a sound of terror,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

6 ‘Ask now, and see

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

7 ‘Alas! for that day is great,

There is none like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,

But he will be saved from it.