Isaiah 13:8

Isaiah 13:8 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.
• English Standard Version (ESV)They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.

Context of Isaiah 13:8

6Wail, for the day of Adonai is near! it will come as destruction from Shaddai. 7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. They will be terrified; pain and anguish will take hold of them; they will writhe as a woman in labor; they will look aghast at one another— their faces aflame! 9Behold, the day of Adonai comes, cruel, full of wrath and fierce fury, to make the earth a desolation, and destroy its sinners from it. 10For 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.

Isaiah 13:8 word by word

וְֽנִבְהָ֓לוּ׀ צִירִ֤ים וַֽחֲבָלִים֙ יֹֽאחֵז֔וּן כַּיּוֹלֵדָ֖ה יְחִיל֑וּן אִ֤ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ יִתְמָ֔הוּ פְּנֵ֥י לְהָבִ֖ים פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall be afraidבָּהַלbâhal · to dismayH926
• pangsצִירtsîyr · pangH6735
• and sorrowsחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
• shall take holdאָחַז'âchaz · to graspH270
• of them; they shall be in painחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
• as a woman that travailethיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• they shall be amazedתָּמַהּtâmahh · to astoundedH8539
• oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• at anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• their facesפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• flamesלַ֫הַבlahab · flameH3851

Cross-references for Isaiah 13:8

• Isaiah 21:3Therefore my body is filled with pain. Pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of a woman in labor. I am bewildered by what I hear, terrified by what I see.
• Isaiah 26:17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so we were before You, Adonai.
• Psalms 48:5For behold, the kings assembled, they advanced together.
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see whether a man can give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman giving birth? Why have all faces turned pale?
• Jeremiah 50:43Babylon’s king heard news of them. His hands droop; anguish grabs him, agony like a woman in labor.
• Daniel 5:5At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand emerged and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace opposite the lampstand, so that the king could see the back of the hand that was writing.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3When they are saying, “Shalom and safety,” sudden destruction comes upon them like a woman having birth pains in the womb—there is no way they will escape.
• Joel 2:6Before them peoples are in anguish. All faces become ashen gray.
• Nahum 2:10Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! For there is no end of treasure— glory from everything precious.

Commentaries on Isaiah 13:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8And they shall be afraid "And they shall be terrified" - I join this verb, ונבהלו venibhalu, to the preceding verse, with the Syriac and Vulgate. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold on them "Pangs shall seize them" - The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read יאחזום yochezum, instead of יאחזון yochezun, which does not express the pronoun then, necessary to the sense.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth - This comparison is often used in the Scriptures to denote the deepest possible pain and sorrow, as well as the suddenness with which any calamity comes upon a people Psalm 48:6; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9-10; John 16:21; Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3. They shall be amazed one at another - They shall…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-18Verses 6-18 We have here the terrible desolation of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. Those who in the day of their peace were proud, and haughty, and terrible, are quite dispirited when trouble comes. Their faces shall be scorched with the flame. All comfort and hope shall fail. The stars of heaven shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened. Such expressions are often employed by the prophets, to describe the convulsions of governments. God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8writhe like a woman in labor: The day of the Lord brings sudden and overpowering pain and fear for the wicked (see also Jeremiah 30:6; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9, 10; 5:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. pangs--The Hebrew means also a "messenger." Horsley, therefore, with the Septuagint translates, "The heralds (who bring word of the unexpected invasion) are terrified." Maurer agrees with English Version, literally, "they shall take hold of pangs and sorrows." woman ... travaileth--(1Th 5:3). amazed--the stupid, bewildered gaze of consternation. faces ... flames--"their visages have the livid hue of flame" [Horsley]; with anguish and indignation.Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 13:8

• Birth
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• Birth
• Glory
• Haughtiness
• Howl
• Astronomy
• Canon of the Old Testament
• Esther, the Rest of
• Evil
• Ezekiel

Commentaries on Isaiah 13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• 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