Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 21:23

"Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people." — Luke 21:23 (ASV)

Great distress in the land.—Literally, great need, or necessity. The word, which St. Luke uses as an equivalent for “tribulation,” is not found in the other Gospels in this sense. It is, however, so used by St. Paul (1 Corinthians 7:26; 2 Corinthians 6:4; 2 Corinthians 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 3:7).