2 Kings 19:3

2 Kings 19:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
• New International Version (NIV)They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.

Context of 2 Kings 19:3

1When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and he covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house (temple) of the Lord. 2Then he sent Eliakim who was in charge of his household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This is a day of distress and anxiety, of punishment and humiliation; for children have come to [the time of their] birth and there is no strength to rescue them. 4It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to taunt and defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. So offer a prayer for the remnant [of His people] that is left [in Judah].’ ” 5So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

2 Kings 19:3 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ יוֹם־צָרָ֧ה וְתוֹכֵחָ֛ה וּנְאָצָ֖ה הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֣י בָ֤אוּ בָנִים֙ עַד־מַשְׁבֵּ֔ר וְכֹ֥חַ אַ֖יִן לְלֵדָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Hezekiahחִזְקִיָּהוּchizqîyâh chizqîyâhû yechizqîyâh yechizqîyâhû · HezekiahH2396
• This dayיוֹםyôm · day: todayH3117
• of troubleצָרָהtsârâh · distressH6869
• and of rebukeתּוֹכֵחָהtôkêchâh tôkachath · rebukeH8433
• and blasphemyנְאָצָהne'âtsâh ne'âtsâh · contemptH5007
• for the childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• are comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the birthמַשְׁבֵּרmishbêr · birthH4866
• not strengthכֹּחַkôach kôach · strengthH3581
• to bring forthיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205

Cross-references for 2 Kings 19:3

• 2 Kings 18:29Thus says the king, ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to rescue you from my hand;
• Psalms 39:11With rebukes You discipline man for sin; You consume like a moth what is precious to him; Surely every man is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]. Selah.
• Psalms 123:3Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious and favorable toward us, For we are greatly filled with contempt.
• Jeremiah 30:5“Thus says the Lord, ‘We have heard a terrified voice Of panic and dread, and there is no peace.
• Hosea 5:15I will go away and return to My place [on high] Until they acknowledge their offense and bear their guilt and seek My face; In their distress they will earnestly seek Me, saying,
• Hosea 6:1“Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord, For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
• Psalms 95:8Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife], And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,
• Hebrews 3:15while it is said, “Today [while there is still opportunity] if you hear His voice, Do not harden your heart, as when they provoked Me [in the rebellion in the desert at Meribah].”
• Isaiah 26:17As a woman with child approaches the time to give birth, She is in pain and struggles and cries out in her labor, So we were before You, O Lord.
• Isaiah 66:9Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
• Hosea 13:13The pains of childbirth come on him; But he is not a wise son, For it is not the time to delay [his chance at a new birth] as the womb opens [but he ignores the opportunity to change].

Commentaries on 2 Kings 19:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3The children are come to the birth - The Jewish state is here represented under the emblem of a woman in travail, who has been so long in the pangs of parturition, that her strength is now entirely exhausted, and her deliverance is hopeless, without a miracle. The image is very fine and highly appropriate. A similar image is employed by Homer, when he represents the agonies which Agamemnon suffers from his wound: - ̔ ̔ ' · ̔ ' ̔, · ' ̔ ͅ , , ̈́ ̔ · ̔ '…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The “trouble” consisted in rebuke” (rather, “chastisement,”) for sins at the hand of God, and “blasphemy” (rather, “reproach,”) at the hands of man. The children … - i. e., “we are in a fearful extremity - at the last gasp - and lack the strength that might carry us through the danger.”Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3Leaders often asked prophets like Isaiah for guidance during emergencies (2 Kings 3:11–12) or before battles (1 Kings 22:8–10). Isaiah was active during King Hezekiah’s rule (2 Kings 20:1, 14). The phrase day of distress describes the deep distress the king felt due to the insults and disgrace against God and his people. Hezekiah understood that they were powerless without God's help.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-52Ki 19:1-5. Hezekiah in Deep Affliction. 1-3. when king Hezekiah heard it, he rent his clothes--The rending of his clothes was a mode of expressing horror at the daring blasphemy--the assumption of sackcloth a sign of his mental distress--his entrance into the temple to pray the refuge of a pious man in affliction--and the forwarding an account of the Assyrian's speech to Isaiah was to obtain the prophet's counsel and comfort. The expression in which the…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 19:3

• Diplomacy
• Intercession

In the dictionaries

• Hezekiah
• Cause
• Coming
• Exalt
• Prayer
• Rabmag
• Bible, the
• Blasphemy
• Bring
• Chronicles, Books of

Commentaries on 2 Kings 19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings