Luke 21:23 Meaning and Explanation
“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.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The word "woe" here is not a rebuke of mothers or children. It is Jesus' sorrowful cry over people whose bodily needs and responsibilities would make a time of siege, fear, and escape especially hard. The verse requires us to receive prophetic judgment without losing sight of individual human pain.
Jesus pronounces woe over pregnant and nursing mothers in Jerusalem's coming distress because siege and flight would bear especially heavily on them. His words reveal compassionate recognition of suffering amid a terrible judgment.
The Context of Luke 21:23
After predicting the temple's destruction, Jesus tells his disciples that Jerusalem surrounded by armies will signal its near desolation. He commands people in Judaea to flee to the mountains, people in the city to depart, and others not to enter it. He calls those days "days of vengeance" in which what was written would be fulfilled. Verse 23 focuses on pregnant and nursing women before verse 24 describes sword, captivity, and Jerusalem's subjection among the nations. Later in the chapter, Jesus turns to signs, the Son of man's coming, watchfulness, and prayer.
What Does Luke 21:23 Mean?
Jesus says, "But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days!" The woe is a lament over severe trouble, directed toward those who would endure it. Pregnancy and nursing involve real physical limits, care for another life, and urgent needs that cannot simply be set aside during flight or scarcity. Jesus then names "great distress in the land" and "wrath upon this people." The scope is communal, yet his speech does not blur people into a crowd. He notices those for whom the same crisis would carry particular vulnerability. His warning has the tenderness of one who sees suffering before it arrives.
In the chapter's movement, this verse follows the command to flee and prepares for the fuller description of death and captivity. Jesus therefore joins urgent instruction with sorrow. The devastation is presented as judgment connected with the fulfillment of what God had written, yet the chapter offers no permission to treat sufferers as objects of contempt. Jesus had earlier wept over Jerusalem and spoken of its failure to recognize the time of visitation. Here he gives warning before the disaster, naming the hardship it will bring. God's judgment is real, and the afflicted remain people to be mourned, aided, and remembered before him.
The wider Gospel records Jesus' continuing concern for women and children amid pain and danger. On the way to the cross, he again speaks to daughters of Jerusalem about coming days of anguish. His own suffering also shows that he does not stand at a safe distance from human grief. Luke 21 does not explain every circumstance of suffering, and it should not be used to assign blame to particular victims. It calls us to hear Christ's truthful warning and to share his compassionate attention, especially where danger presses hardest upon those entrusted with the care of the young.
Bible Verses Related to Luke 21:23
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 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. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
- Luke 21:20-24
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
- Luke 19:41-44
“But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.”
- Luke 23:28-29
“And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave: So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.”
- Deuteronomy 28:53-57
Where Luke 21:23 Echoes in Scripture
Jesus' words have a close later echo in Luke 23:28-29, where, on the way to crucifixion, he speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem about days of coming sorrow. That scene deepens the compassion of Luke 21:23. Jesus is moving toward his own death while grieving beforehand for the suffering that will come upon the city. The repeated concern for mothers underscores the concrete human cost of the calamity.
How to Apply Luke 21:23 Today
This verse trains our attention toward people who carry heavier burdens in a crisis. Families with infants, pregnant women, caregivers, older people, and those with limited resources may need support that general plans overlook. In homes, congregations, and neighborhoods, we can make room for practical mercy: sharing food, offering transport, checking in, protecting rest, and listening without judgment. The verse also steadies our speech about disasters. Jesus names the reality of judgment while speaking woe over suffering; our words can likewise be truthful, restrained, and compassionate.
Reflection & Prayer
Whose vulnerability might we fail to notice when a community faces pressure or fear? We might pray: "Lord Jesus, give us your compassionate sight. Help us remember those carrying hidden burdens, offer practical care, and remain faithful when trouble comes."