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
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.
21:4 My heart palpitates, 4
I shake in fear; 5
the twilight I desired
has brought me terror.
1 tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.
2 tn Heb “my waist is filled with shaking [or “anguish”].”
3 tn Or perhaps, “bent over [in pain]”; cf. NRSV “I am bowed down.”
4 tn Heb “wanders,” perhaps here, “is confused.”
5 tn Heb “shuddering terrifies me.”
6 tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”
7 tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”
8 tn Aram “his loins went slack.”