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Isaiah 13:8

6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

7 Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt.

Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.

9 Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming— cruel, with fury and burning anger— to make the earth a desolation and to destroy the sinners within it.

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.

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This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
KJV
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
WEB
They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame.
ASV
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame.
DARBY
and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.
BLB
and they will be afraid; pains and pangs will seize them; like a woman in labor they will writhe. Each man to his neighbor will look with astonishment, [with] faces aflame—their faces.
ÅB
Og de forferdes; veer og smerter griper dem, som den fødende kvinne vrir de seg; fulle av redsel ser de på hverandre, deres ansikter blusser som flammer.
OTB
De vil bli grepet av frykt, smerte og angst vil gripe dem; de vil vri seg som en kvinne i fødsel. De vil se på hverandre i forbauselse, deres ansikter i flammer.
B1930
Og de forferdes; veer og smerter griper dem, som den fødende kvinne vrir de sig; fulle av redsel ser de på hverandre, deres ansikter blusser som ildsluer.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Nahum 2:10

    She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!

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  • 1 Thessalonians 5:3

    While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 26:17

    As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 21:3–4

    Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.

    Read in context

  • John 16:21

    A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.

    Read in context

  • Psalms 48:5–6

    They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.

    Read in context

  • Jeremiah 50:43

    The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

    Read in context

  • Daniel 5:5–6

    At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,

    Read in context