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10 [a]Writhe, go into labor,
    O daughter Zion,
    like a woman giving birth;
For now you shall leave the city
    and camp in the fields;
To Babylon you shall go,
    there you shall be rescued.
There the Lord shall redeem you
    from the hand of your enemies.

11 [b]And now many nations are gathered against you!
    They say, “Let her be profaned,
    let our eyes see Zion’s downfall!”
12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
    nor understand his plan:
He has gathered them
    like sheaves to the threshing floor.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:10 Frequently the prophets personify the city of Jerusalem as a woman, and here as a woman in labor.
  2. 4:11–13 The nations who have ridiculed Zion (v. 11) will be threshed like grain (v. 13).

10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion,
    like a woman in labor,
for now you must leave the city
    to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon;(A)
    there you will be rescued.
There the Lord will redeem(B) you
    out of the hand of your enemies.

11 But now many nations
    are gathered against you.
They say, “Let her be defiled,
    let our eyes gloat(C) over Zion!”
12 But they do not know
    the thoughts of the Lord;
they do not understand his plan,(D)
    that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

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