Isaiah 13:6-8

13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment ¹  is near;

it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. ² 

13:7 For this reason all hands hang limp, ³ 

every human heart loses its courage. ⁴ 

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. ⁵ 

[13:6]  ¹ tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).

[13:6]  ² tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.

[13:7]  ³ tn Heb “drop”; KJV “be faint”; ASV “be feeble”; NAB “fall helpless.”

[13:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “melts” (so NAB).

[13:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “their faces are faces of flames.” Their faces are flushed with fear and embarrassment.