Wahyu 12:4

12:4 Now ¹  the dragon’s ²  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ³  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

Yesaya 53:11

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. ⁴ 

“My servant ⁵  will acquit many, ⁶ 

for he carried their sins. ⁷ 

Yesaya 54:1

Zion Will Be Secure

54:1 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!

Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!

For the children of the desolate one are more numerous

than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

Yesaya 66:7-8

66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!

Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Who has ever seen this?

Can a country ⁸  be brought forth in one day?

Can a nation be born in a single moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

Mikha 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ⁹  will hand the people of Israel ¹⁰  over to their enemies ¹¹ 

until the time when the woman in labor ¹²  gives birth. ¹³ 

Then the rest of the king’s ¹⁴  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ¹⁵ 

Yohanes 16:21

16:21 When a woman gives birth, she has distress ¹⁶  because her time ¹⁷  has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being ¹⁸  has been born into the world. ¹⁹ 

Galatia 4:19

4:19 My children – I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you! ²⁰ 

Galatia 4:27

4:27 For it is written:

“Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear children; ²¹ 

break forth and shout, you who have no birth pains,

because the children of the desolate woman are more numerous

than those of the woman who has a husband.” ²² 

[12:4]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ² tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[53:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “he will be satisfied by his knowledge,” i.e., “when he knows.” The preposition is understood as temporal and the suffix as a subjective genitive. Some take בְּדַעְתּוֹ (bÿda’to, “by his knowledge”) with what follows and translate “by knowledge of him,” understanding the preposition as instrumental and the suffix as objective.

[53:11]  ⁵ sn The song ends as it began (cf. 52:13-15), with the Lord announcing the servant’s vindication and exaltation.

[53:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will acquit, a righteous one, my servant, many.” צַדִּיק (tsadiq) may refer to the servant, but more likely it is dittographic (note the preceding verb יַצְדִּיק, yatsdiq). The precise meaning of the verb (the Hiphil of צָדַק, tsadaq) is debated. Elsewhere the Hiphil is used at least six times in the sense of “make righteous” in a legal sense, i.e., “pronounce innocent, acquit” (see Exod 23:7; Deut 25:1; 1 Kgs 8:32 = 2 Chr 6:23; Prov 17:15; Isa 5:23). It can also mean “render justice” (as a royal function, see 2 Sam 15:4; Ps 82:3), “concede” (Job 27:5), “vindicate” (Isa 50:8), and “lead to righteousness” (by teaching and example, Dan 12:3). The preceding context and the next line suggest a legal sense here. Because of his willingness to carry the people’s sins, the servant is able to “acquit” them.

[53:11]  sn Some (e.g., H. M. Orlinsky, “The So-called ‘Suffering Servant’ in Isaiah 53,22,” VTSup 14 [1967]: 3-133) object to this legal interpretation of the language, arguing that it would be unjust for the righteous to suffer for the wicked and for the wicked to be declared innocent. However, such a surprising development is consistent with the ironic nature of this song. It does seem unfair for the innocent to die for the guilty. But what is God to do when all have sinned and wandered off like stray sheep (cf. v. 6)? Covenant law demands punishment, but punishment in this case would mean annihilation of what God has created. God’s justice, as demanded by the law, must be satisfied. To satisfy his justice, he does something seemingly unjust. He punishes his sinless servant, the only one who has not strayed off! In the progress of biblical revelation, we discover that the sinless servant is really God in the flesh, who offers himself because he is committed to the world he has created. If his justice can only be satisfied if he himself endures the punishment, then so be it. What appears to be an act of injustice is really love satisfying the demands of justice!

[53:11]  ⁷ tn The circumstantial clause (note the vav [ו] + object + subject + verb pattern) is understood as causal here. The prefixed verb form is either a preterite or an imperfect used in a customary manner.

[66:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹¹ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ¹² sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ¹³ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  sn The rest of the king’s brothers are the coming king’s fellow Judahites, while the sons of Israel are the northern tribes. The verse pictures the reunification of the nation under the Davidic king. See Isa 11:12-13; Jer 31:2-6, 15-20; Ezek 37; Hos 1:11; 3:5.

[16:21]  ¹⁶ sn The same word translated distress here has been translated sadness in the previous verse (a wordplay that is not exactly reproducible in English).

[16:21]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “her hour.”

[16:21]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “that a man” (but in a generic sense, referring to a human being).

[16:21]  ¹⁹ sn Jesus now compares the situation of the disciples to a woman in childbirth. Just as the woman in the delivery of her child experiences real pain and anguish (has distress), so the disciples will also undergo real anguish at the crucifixion of Jesus. But once the child has been born, the mother’s anguish is turned into joy, and she forgets the past suffering. The same will be true of the disciples, who after Jesus’ resurrection and reappearance to them will forget the anguish they suffered at his death on account of their joy.

[4:19]  ²⁰ tn Grk “My children, for whom I am again undergoing birth pains until Christ is formed in you.” The relative clauses in English do not pick up the emotional force of Paul’s language here (note “tone of voice” in v. 20, indicating that he is passionately concerned for them); hence, the translation has been altered slightly to capture the connotative power of Paul’s plea.

[4:19]  sn That is, until Christ’s nature or character is formed in them (see L&N 58.4).

[4:27]  ²¹ tn The direct object “children” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied for clarity. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[4:27]  ²² tn Grk “because more are the children of the barren one than of the one having a husband.”

[4:27]  sn A quotation from Isa 54:1.