Isaiah 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 

Isaiah 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.

Psalms 48:6

48:6 Look at them shake uncontrollably, ² 

like a woman writhing in childbirth. ³ 

Jeremiah 48:41

48:41 Her towns ⁴  will be captured.

Her fortresses will be taken.

At that time the soldiers of Moab will be frightened

like a woman in labor. ⁵ 

Jeremiah 49:22

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,

a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.

At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful

as a woman in labor.” ⁶ 

Jeremiah 50:43

50:43 The king of Babylon will become paralyzed with fear ⁷ 

when he hears news of their coming. ⁸ 

Anguish will grip him,

agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby. ⁹ 

Micah 4:9-10

4:9 Jerusalem, why are you ¹⁰  now shouting so loudly? ¹¹ 

Has your king disappeared? ¹² 

Has your wise leader ¹³  been destroyed?

Is this why ¹⁴  pain grips ¹⁵  you as if you were a woman in labor?

4:10 Twist and strain, ¹⁶  Daughter Zion, as if you were in labor!

For you will leave the city

and live in the open field.

You will go to Babylon,

but there you will be rescued.

There the Lord will deliver ¹⁷  you

from the power ¹⁸  of your enemies.

Micah 4:1

Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem

4:1 In the future ¹⁹  the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all; ²⁰ 

it will be more prominent than other hills. ²¹ 

People will stream to it.

Micah 5:3

5:3 So the Lord ²²  will hand the people of Israel ²³  over to their enemies ²⁴ 

until the time when the woman in labor ²⁵  gives birth. ²⁶ 

Then the rest of the king’s ²⁷  countrymen will return

to be reunited with the people of Israel. ²⁸ 

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

[48:6]  ² tn Heb “trembling seizes them there.” The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is used here, as often in poetic texts, to point “to a spot in which a scene is localized vividly in the imagination” (BDB 1027 s.v.).

[48:6]  ³ tn Heb “[with] writhing like one giving birth.”

[48:41]  ⁴ tn Parallelism argues that the word קְרִיּוֹת (qÿriyyot) be understood as the otherwise unattested feminine plural of the noun קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) rather than the place name Kerioth mentioned in v. 24 (cf. HALOT 1065 s.v. קִרְיָה). Both this noun and the parallel term “fortresses” are plural but are found with feminine singular verbs, being treated either as collectives or distributive plurals (cf. GKC 462-63 §145.c or 464 §145.l).

[48:41]  ⁵ tn Heb “The heart of the soldiers of Moab will be like the heart of a woman in labor.”

[49:22]  ⁶ sn Compare Jer 48:40-41 for a similar prophecy about Moab. The parallelism here suggests that Bozrah, like Teman in v. 20, is a poetic equivalent for Edom.

[50:43]  ⁷ tn Heb “his hands will drop/hang limp.” For the meaning of this idiom see the translator’s note on 6:24.

[50:43]  ⁸ tn Heb “The king of Babylon hears report of them and his hands hang limp.” The verbs are translated as future because the passage is prophetic and the verbs may be interpreted as prophetic perfects (the action viewed as if it were as good as done). In the parallel passage in 6:24 the verbs could be understood as present perfects because the passage could be viewed as in the present. Here it is future.

[50:43]  ⁹ sn Compare Jer 6:22-24 where almost the same exact words as 50:41-43 are applied to the people of Judah. The repetition of prophecies here and in the following verses emphasizes the talionic nature of God’s punishment of Babylon; as they have done to others, so it will be done to them (cf. 25:14; 50:15).

[4:9]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew form is feminine singular, indicating that Jerusalem, personified as a young woman, is now addressed (see v. 10). In v. 8 the tower/fortress was addressed with masculine forms, so there is clearly a shift in addressee here. “Jerusalem” has been supplied in the translation at the beginning of v. 9 to make this shift apparent.

[4:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Now why are you shouting [with] a shout.”

[4:9]  ¹² tn Heb “Is there no king over you?”

[4:9]  ¹³ tn Traditionally, “counselor” (cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). This refers to the king mentioned in the previous line; the title points to the king’s roles as chief strategist and policy maker, both of which required extraordinary wisdom.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “that.” The Hebrew particle כִּי (ki) is used here in a resultative sense; for this use see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §450.

[4:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “grabs hold of, seizes.”

[4:10]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “scream”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “groan.”

[4:10]  ¹⁷ tn Or “redeem” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[4:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “hand.” The Hebrew idiom is a metonymy for power or control.

[4:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “at the end of days.”

[4:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “will be established as the head of the mountains.”

[4:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “it will be lifted up above the hills.”

[5:3]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (the people of Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²⁴ tn The words “to their enemies” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:3]  ²⁵ sn The woman in labor. Personified, suffering Jerusalem is the referent. See 4:9-10.

[5:3]  ²⁶ sn Gives birth. The point of the figurative language is that Jerusalem finally finds relief from her suffering. See 4:10.

[5:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:3]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to the sons of Israel.” The words “be reunited with” are supplied in the translation for clarity.