Isaiah 13:8
in Isaiah 13Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 13
Commentary
10 notes on this verseAnd 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.
This site's exposition
Listen, a tumult on the mountains
on Isaiah 13:4-8
The tumult on the mountains gathers many nations under one command, the LORD of Hosts mobilizing an army. The prophet cries that "the Day of the LORD is near," coming as destruction from the Almighty. Writhing "like a woman in labor" is one of the oldest figures for sudden dread.
This site's exposition
they will writhe like a woman in labor
Labor pains are the prophets' picture of sudden anguish no one can escape, used again of Babylon in 21:3 and Jeremiah 50:43. Matthew Henry weighed the flushed faces as pale with fear or red with shame at their cowardice. Clarke joined the first words to verse 7.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The day of the Lord comes suddenly, it says, and in an unexpected way like the pains of childbirth, which forestall all one's efforts to hide them.
(Verse 7, 8.) Therefore, all hands will be loosened, and every man's heart will waste away and be crushed. There will be twisting and pain: they will be in agony like a woman in labor. Each person will be astonished at their neighbor; their faces will be burned with the expression of fear.
(Verse 8.) They will be tormented with twists and pains. They will groan like a woman giving birth. Each one will be astonished at their neighbor. Their faces will be burned. When the warriors of the Lord come from a distant land, and all hands are loosened, and the heart is fearful and crushed, then the stomach turns, which we have interpreted as twists, and pains will torment them, similar to the pains of a woman in labor.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, as to the disturbance of the heart, which is disturbed in three ways. According to its inner state, either as to cheerfulness: and every heart of man shall melt; or as to magnanimity: and shall be broken, as though divided into little pieces; or …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Their faces shall be as flames, pale as flames, through fear (so some), or red as flames sometimes are, blushing at their own cowardice; or their faces shall be as faces scorched with the flame, or as theirs that labour in the fire, their visage blacker than a coal, or like a bottle in the smoke, Ps. cxix.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they shall be afraid,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They 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 Psa 48:6; Isa 21:3; Isa 42:14; Jer 6:24; Jer 13:21; Jer 22:23; Jer 49:24; Jer 50:43; Hos 13:13; Mic 4:9-10; Joh 16:21; Gal 4:19; 1Th 5:3. They shall be amazed one at another - They shall stare with a stupid gaze on one another, indicating a state of great distress, anxiety, and alarm. They shall look to each other for aid, and shall meet in the countenances of others the same expressions of wonder and consternation. Their faces shall be as flames - Their faces shall glow or burn like fire. When grief and anguish come upon us, the face becomes inflamed. The face in fear is usually pale. But the idea here is not so much that of fear as of anguish; and, perhaps, there is mingled also here the idea of indignation against their invaders.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽנִבְהָ֓לוּ׀ | venivhalu | and they will be terrified | H926 → | |
| צִירִ֤ים | tzirim | pangs | H6735 → | 12 times |
| וַֽחֲבָלִים֙ | vachavalim | and pains | H2256 → | 62 times |
| יֹֽאחֵז֔וּן | yochezun | they will seize [them] ! | H270 → | 67 times |
| כַּיּוֹלֵדָ֖ה | kaiyoledah | like <the> [woman] giving birth | H3205 → | 496 times |
| יְחִיל֑וּן | yechilun | they will be in anguish ! | H2342 → | 58 times |
| אִ֤ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| יִתְמָ֔הוּ | yitmahu | they will look in astonishment | H8539 → | |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [will be] faces of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לְהָבִ֖ים | lehavim | flames | H3851 → | 12 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וְֽנִבְהָ֓לוּ׀and they will be terrified
venivhaluH926 →
צִירִ֤יםpangs
tzirimH6735 →12 times
וַֽחֲבָלִים֙and pains
vachavalimH2256 →62 times
יֹֽאחֵז֔וּןthey will seize [them] !
yochezunH270 →67 times
כַּיּוֹלֵדָ֖הlike <the> [woman] giving birth
kaiyoledahH3205 →496 times
יְחִיל֑וּןthey will be in anguish !
yechilunH2342 →58 times
אִ֤ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
רֵעֵ֙הוּ֙neighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 times
יִתְמָ֔הוּthey will look in astonishment
yitmahuH8539 →
פְּנֵ֥י[will be] faces of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
לְהָבִ֖יםflames
lehavimH3851 →12 times
פְּנֵיהֶֽם׃faces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
it leads to
- Luke 21:34–35
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Matthew 24:37–39
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:26–30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Revelation 18:7–8
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
- Hebrews 2:3
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Luke 21:34–35
Through
Nahum 2:10She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
it leads to
- Daniel 5:6
his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Psalms 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
- Joel 2:6
Nations writhe in horror before them; every face turns pale.
- Daniel 5:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 32 (8:56.12); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
