Yesaya 13:8

13:8 They panic –

cramps and pain seize hold of them

like those of a woman who is straining to give birth.

They look at one another in astonishment;

their faces are flushed red. ¹ 

Yesaya 21:3

21:3 For this reason my stomach churns; ² 

cramps overwhelm me

like the contractions of a woman in labor.

I am disturbed ³  by what I hear,

horrified by what I see.

Yesaya 26:17

26:17 As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver

and strains and cries out because of her labor pains,

so were we because of you, O Lord.

Yesaya 42:14

42:14 “I have been inactive ⁴  for a long time;

I kept quiet and held back.

Like a woman in labor I groan;

I pant and gasp. ⁵ 

[13:8]  ¹ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.

[21:3]  ² tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”

[21:3]  ³ tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”

[42:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “silent” (so NASB, NIV, TEV, NLT); CEV “have held my temper.”

[42:14]  ⁵ sn The imagery depicts the Lord as a warrior who is eager to fight and can no longer hold himself back from the attack.