Luke 21:24

"Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath to this people."

Key Reflection

In Luke 21:24, Jesus foretells a time of severe suffering for pregnant women and nursing mothers during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire in 70 CE. The original audience would have recognized that these women were particularly vulnerable; the distress described encompassed not just physical danger but also the emotional and societal upheaval as the city fell under siege, leading to widespread chaos and violence.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 24. Shall fall, &c. No less than one million one hundred thousand perished in the siege of Jerusalem. Shall be led away captive. More than ninety thousand were led into captivity. See Barnes "Mt 24:1, and following. Shall be trodden down by the Gentiles. Shall be in posses sion of the Gentiles, or be subject to them. The expression also implies that it would be an oppressive subjection, as when a captive in war is trodden down under the feet of the conqueror. Anciently conquerors trod on the necks of those who were subdued by them, Jos 10:24; 2 Sa 22:41; Eze 21:29. The bondage of Jerusalem has been long and very oppressive.

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