Isaiah 37:3
in Isaiah 37to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
KJV
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
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This verse in Isaiah 37
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
This is a day of rebuke - This may refer either to the reproaches of Rabsbakeh, or more probably to the fact that Hezekiah regarded the Lord as rebuking his people for their sins. The word which is used here (תוכחח tôkēchâh), means more properly chastisement or punishment Psa 149:7; Hos 5:
This site's exposition
King Hezekiah tore his clothes
on Isaiah 37:1-3
Hezekiah meets the taunt with grief and prayer, for he tore his clothes. His message gives a birth image, children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them. Henry sets this beside his father Ahaz, who built an altar to a foreign god.
This site's exposition
Today is a day of distress
The word for rebuke means chastisement, and Barnes takes it as the LORD's correction of Judah for her sins. The children at the point of birth picture a crisis at its last stage, with no strength left to finish it. The nation cannot deliver itself.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Chapter 37, Verse 1 and following) Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was in charge of the palace, and Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what the field commander had said. When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. 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.' If you want to know how the Lord your God heard the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, sent to blaspheme the living God and to reproach the words that the Lord your God heard, lift up a prayer for the remainder that have been found. Then the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, and Isaiah said to them: 'Thus you shall say to your master: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria blasphemed me.' Behold, I will give to him the spirit, and he will hear the message, and he will return to his land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his land. Leaving aside the clear things, let us discuss only those in which the hidden meaning is present. They tear their clothes because they hear Rabshekah blaspheming. The king himself tears his own clothes because he believed it to be his and the people's sins that Rabshekah has come all the way to the gate of Jerusalem and has spoken such things against the Lord. Whereupon, the high priest, because he believed that he had blasphemed the Savior, tore his garments (Matt. […]
And they said to him: Thus says Hezekiah, not a king, not swollen with the name of empire: The day of tribulation, and the day of corruption, and the day of blasphemy: the day of our tribulation, the day of God's correction, the day of the enemies' blasphemy. And the likeness of a woman in labor and in distress, that she has come to labor and cannot give birth, nor can she say: We have conceived, O Lord, from fear of you, and we have grieved and given birth to the spirit of salvation.
The Medieval Church1 voice
The messengers explain the tribulation—and it ought to be read thus: and they came (Isa 37:5), and they said to him—this day is a day of tribulation, which we suffer in outer persecutions, and of distress, as to sorrows of heart, of divine rebuke, and …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they said unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
rebuke--that is, the Lord's rebuke for His people's sins (Ps 149:7; Ho 5:9). blasphemy--blasphemous railing of Rab-shakeh. the children, &c.--a proverbial expression for, We are in the most extreme danger and have no power to avert it (compare Ho 13:13).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ | chizkiyahu | Hezekiah | H2396 → | 127 times |
| יוֹם־ | yom- | [is] a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| צָרָ֧ה | tzarah | distress | H6869 → | 73 times |
| וְתוֹכֵחָ֛ה | vetokhechah | and rebuke | H8433 → | |
| וּנְאָצָ֖ה | uneatzah | and insult | H5007 → | |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָ֤אוּ | vau | they have come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בָנִים֙ | vanim | children | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מַשְׁבֵּ֔ר | mashber | birth | H4866 → | |
| וְכֹ֥חַ | vekhoach | and [is] strength | H3581 → | 126 times |
| אַ֖יִן | ʾayin | there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| לְלֵדָֽה׃ | leledah | for giving birth | H3205 → | 496 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּHezekiah
chizkiyahuH2396 →127 times
יוֹם־[is] a day of
yom-H3117 →2304 times
צָרָ֧הdistress
tzarahH6869 →73 times
וְתוֹכֵחָ֛הand rebuke
vetokhechahH8433 →
וּנְאָצָ֖הand insult
uneatzahH5007 →
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בָ֤אוּthey have come
vauH935 →2568 times
בָנִים֙children
vanimH1121 →4930 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מַשְׁבֵּ֔רbirth
mashberH4866 →
וְכֹ֥חַand [is] strength
vekhoachH3581 →126 times
אַ֖יִןthere not
ʾayinH369 →789 times
לְלֵדָֽה׃for giving birth
leledahH3205 →496 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
Psalms 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 107:28
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 34:3–4
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
- Psalms 107:19
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Psalms 107:28
Through
Isaiah 66:9Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.
it leads to
- Genesis 18:14
Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”
- Genesis 18:14
Through
Hosea 13:13Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
it leads to
- Isaiah 26:17
As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
- Isaiah 13:8
Terror, 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.
- Isaiah 26:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.