The Meaning of Luke 21:23 Explained

Luke 21:23

KJV: But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

YLT: 'And woe to those with child, and to those giving suck, in those days; for there shall be great distress on the land, and wrath on this people;

Darby: But woe to them that are with child and to them who give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress upon the land and wrath upon this people.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  woe  unto  them that are with child,  and  to them that give suck,  in  those  days!  for  there shall be  great  distress  in  the land,  and  wrath  upon  this  people. 

What does Luke 21:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Luke 21:20-28 - The Coming Of The Son Of Man In Glory
This paragraph clearly has its first reference to the fall of Jerusalem, which took place a.d. 70. The directions given by our Lord were of the greatest service to the Christian church, the members of which in large numbers, fled to Pella, across the Jordan, and so escaped the horrors of the siege. But beyond this each great event, such as the dissolution of the Hebrew state, the overthrow of the Roman Empire, the rise of the Reformation, the French Revolution, and so forth, is another stage in the advent of our Lord. He is always "coming in a cloud" so far as the eyes of men are concerned; but with the growing glory of clearer revelation and increased spiritual power. And all these stages are leading up to His final unveiling at His second advent.
That generation did not pass away before these portents were fulfilled; but each great period or chapter of history closes with similar signs. It is as though nature were as sympathetic to the experiences of the race, as the body is to the motions of the soul. Again behold the travail-pangs of creation, through which the new heavens and the new earth are being born. See Romans 8:22, etc. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 21

1  Jesus commends the poor widow
5  He foretells the destruction of the temple, and of the city Jerusalem;
25  the signs also which shall be before the last day
34  He exhorts them to be watchful

What do the individual words in Luke 21:23 mean?

But woe to those in womb having and to the [ones] nursing those the days there will be for distress great upon the land wrath to the people this
Οὐαὶ ταῖς ἐν γαστρὶ ἐχούσαις καὶ ταῖς θηλαζούσαις ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις ἔσται γὰρ ἀνάγκη μεγάλη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὀργὴ τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ

Οὐαὶ  But  woe 
Parse: Interjection
Root: οὐαί  
Sense: alas, woe.
ταῖς  to  those 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
γαστρὶ  womb 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: γαστήρ  
Sense: the belly.
ταῖς  to  the  [ones] 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
θηλαζούσαις  nursing 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: θηλάζω  
Sense: to give the breast, give suck, to suckle.
ἐκείναις  those 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
ἡμέραις  days 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
ἔσται  there  will  be 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀνάγκη  distress 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀνάγκη  
Sense: necessity, imposed either by the circumstances, or by law of duty regarding to one’s advantage, custom, argument.
μεγάλη  great 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: μέγας  
Sense: great.
ἐπὶ  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
γῆς  land 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: γῆ  
Sense: arable land.
ὀργὴ  wrath 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ὀργή  
Sense: anger, the natural disposition, temper, character.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λαῷ  people 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: λαός  
Sense: a people, people group, tribe, nation, all those who are of the same stock and language.
τούτῳ  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.