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 the message, he tore his clothes in grief, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the Lord’s temple. 2Then he sent Eliakim, who was in charge of the palace, Shebna the scribe, and the leaders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz. They said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day filled with misery, punishment, and disgrace. We are like a woman who is about to give birth but doesn’t have the strength to do it. 4The Lord your God may have heard all the words of the field commander. His master, the king of Assyria, sent him to defy the living God. The Lord your God may punish him because of the message that the Lord your God heard. Pray for the few people who are left.” 5So King Hezekiah’s men went 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 18:29This is what the king says: Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you. He can’t rescue you from me.
• Psalms 39:11With stern warnings you discipline people for their crimes. Like a moth you eat away at what is dear to them. Certainly, everyone is like a whisper in the wind. Selah
• Psalms 123:3Have pity on us, O Lord. Have pity on us because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
• Jeremiah 30:5“This is what the Lord says: “We hear cries of fear, cries of panic, not cries of peace.
• Hosea 5:15I will go back to my place until they admit that they are guilty. Then they will search for me. In their distress they will eagerly look for me.”
• Hosea 6:1Let’s return to the Lord. Even though he has torn us to pieces, he will heal us. Even though he has wounded us, he will bandage our wounds.
• Psalms 95:8“Do not be stubborn like ⌞my people were⌟ at Meribah, like the time at Massah in the desert.
• Hebrews 3:15Scripture says, “If you hear God speak today, don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled.”
• Isaiah 26:17O Lord, when we are with you, we are like pregnant women ready to give birth. They writhe and cry out in their labor pains.
• Isaiah 66:9“Do I bring a mother to the moment of birth and not let her deliver?” asks the Lord. “Do I cause a mother to deliver and then make her unable to have children?” asks your God.
• Hosea 13:13They have the opportunity to live again, but they are not smart enough to take it. They are like a baby who is about to be born but won’t come out of its mother’s womb.

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