John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 6:24

"We have heard the report thereof; our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail." — Jeremiah 6:24 (ASV)

Jeremiah proceeds in the same manner; for he sets the judgment of God before the eyes of the Jews and draws them, as it were, against their will, into the middle of the scene.

This was done by the prophets, as has already been said, because by plain words they could not move the hearts of the people, because of their contempt of God and the long-standing stubbornness in which they had become entrenched.

Therefore, he says that the report of the enemy had been heard, and that their hands had immediately dissolved. When the Prophet spoke, the Jews did not think that their enemies were so near.

But the phrase is to be explained this way: “As soon as you hear the report, your hands will be relaxed, and distress will seize you.”

The comparison of a woman in labor is often found in Scripture. What is generally understood by this in most places is sudden and unexpected pain.

But in this place, the Prophet refers more to the violence of the pain, though the other meaning, which I have just stated, is not to be excluded.

For it is probable that when he saw the people's great hardness and stubbornness, he adopted this comparison to show that however carelessly they despised the punishment due to them, it could not be avoided, as it would seize them suddenly, like that of a woman in childbirth.

He afterwards adds—