Jer 4:31 | NETfull | STEP | In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Jeremiah 4:31

31 In fact, ^{▼▼ The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.} I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion ^{▼▼ Jerusalem is personified as a helpless maiden.} gasping for breath,
reaching out for help, ^{▼▼ Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.} saying, “I am done in! ^{▼▼ Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”}
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”