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Easy-to-Read Version

2 Kings 19:3

They said to Isaiah, "King Hezekiah has commanded that today will be a special day for sorrow and sadness. It will be a very sad day, like the time a child should be born, but is not strong enough to come from its mother's womb.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Diplomacy;   Intercession;   Thompson Chain Reference - Hezekiah;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Jerusalem;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Arpad;   Isaiah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Assyria;   Hezekiah;   Prophecy, prophet;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Mediator, Mediation;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Eliakim;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Kings, 1 and 2;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Hezekiah;   Isaiah, Book of;   Israel;   Philistines;   Prophecy, Prophets;   Text, Versions, and Languages of Ot;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Sennacherib ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Hezekiah;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Interesting facts about the bible;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Birth;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Blasphemy;   Bring;   Hezekiah (2);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They said to 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.
Hebrew Names Version
They said to him, Thus says Hizkiyahu, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
King James Version
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
English Standard Version
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
New Century Version
They told Isaiah, "This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of sorrow and punishment and disgrace, as when a child should be born, but the mother is not strong enough to give birth to it.
New English Translation
"This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.
Amplified Bible
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This is a day of distress and anxiety, of punishment and humiliation; for children have come to [the time of their] birth and there is no strength to rescue them.
New American Standard Bible
And they said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.
World English Bible
They said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they said vnto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of tribulation and of rebuke, & blasphemie: for the childre are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring foorth.
Legacy Standard Bible
And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, reproof, and rejection; for children have come to the point of breaking forth, but there is no strength to give birth.
Berean Standard Bible
to tell him, "This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for the children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
Contemporary English Version
These are difficult and disgraceful times. Our nation is like a woman too weak to give birth, when it's time for her baby to be born.
Complete Jewish Bible
They said to him, "This is what Hizkiyahu says: ‘Today is a day of trouble, rebuke and disgrace. Children are ready to be born, but there is no strength to bring them to birth.
Darby Translation
And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of reviling; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
George Lamsa Translation
And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of distress and of rebuke and of anger; for the children have come to the birth, and there is no strength in the mother to bring forth.
Good News Translation
This is the message which he told them to give Isaiah: "Today is a day of suffering; we are being punished and are in disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is too weak to do it.
Lexham English Bible
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, ‘A day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace is this day, for the children are about to be born, but there is no strength to bear them.
Literal Translation
And they said to him, So says Hezekiah, it is a day of distress, and of rebuke, and of contempt today; for the sons have come to the birth, and there is no power to bring forth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& they saide vnto him: Thus sayeth Ezechias: This is a daye of trouble, & of defiaunce & blasphemy. The childre are come to the byrth, & there is no strength to be delyuered of them.
American Standard Version
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.
Bible in Basic English
And they said to him, Hezekiah says, This day is a day of trouble and punishment and shame; for the children are ready to come to birth, but there is no strength to give birth to them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they sayd vnto him, thus sayth Hezekia: This day is a day of tribulation, & of rebuke and blasphemie: For the children are come to the byrth, and there is no strength to be deliuered.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
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.
King James Version (1611)
And they sayd vnto him, Thus sayth Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemie: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring foorth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they said to him, Thus says Ezekias, This day is a day of tribulation, and rebuke, and provocation: for the children are come to the travail-pangs, but the mother has no strength.
English Revised Version
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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whiche seiden, Ezechie seith these thingis, This dai is a dai of tribulacioun, and of blamyng, and of blasfemye; sones camen `til to the childberyng, and the `traueler of childe hath not strengthis.
Update Bible Version
And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of disgrace; for the children have come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they said to him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day [is] a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children have come to the birth, and [there is] not strength to bring forth.
New King James Version
And they said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah: "This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
New Living Translation
They told him, "This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby.
New Life Bible
And they said to him, "Hezekiah says, ‘This day is a day of trouble, sharp words, and shame. For children have come to be born, but there is no strength to give birth to them.
New Revised Standard
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and they said unto him - Thus, saith Hezekiah, A day of trouble, and rebuke, and reviling, is this day, - for children are come to the birth, and, strength, is there none to bring forth!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they said to him: Thus saith Ezechias: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: the children are come to the birth, and the woman in travail hath not strength.
Revised Standard Version
They said to him, "Thus says Hezeki'ah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
Young's Literal Translation
and they say unto him, `Thus said Hezekiah -- A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising [is] this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bring forth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver.

Contextual Overview

1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes to show he was upset. Then he put on sackcloth and went to the Lord 's Temple. 2 Hezekiah sent Eliakim the palace manager, Shebna the royal secretary, and the elders of the priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They wore the special clothes that showed they were sad and upset. 3 They said to Isaiah, "King Hezekiah has commanded that today will be a special day for sorrow and sadness. It will be a very sad day, like the time a child should be born, but is not strong enough to come from its mother's womb. 4 The commander's master, the king of Assyria, has sent him to say bad things about the living God. Maybe the Lord your God will hear all those things and answer them. Maybe the Lord your God will show how wrong the enemy is! So pray for the people who are still left alive." 5 King Hezekiah's officers went to Isaiah. 6 Isaiah said to them, "Give this message to your master, Hezekiah: The Lord says, ‘Don't be afraid of what you heard from the commanders. Don't believe what those "boys" from the king of Assyria said to make fun of me. 7 Look, I will send a spirit against the king of Assyria. He will get a report warning him about a danger, so he will return to his own country. And I will cut him down with a sword in his own country.'"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

This day: 2 Kings 18:29, Psalms 39:11, Psalms 123:3, Psalms 123:4, Jeremiah 30:5-7, Hosea 5:15, Hosea 6:1

blasphemy: or, provocation, Psalms 95:8, Hebrews 3:15, Hebrews 3:16

for the children: Isaiah 26:17, Isaiah 26:18, Isaiah 66:9, Hosea 13:13

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 22:12 - the king Esther 4:14 - for such a time Psalms 77:2 - In the Isaiah 17:14 - at eveningtide Isaiah 22:5 - a day Isaiah 37:3 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.
Genesis 19:8
Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man before. I will give my daughters to you. You can do anything you want with them. But please don't do anything to these men. They have come to my house, and I must protect them."
Genesis 19:28
Abraham looked down into the valley toward the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He saw clouds of smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
Genesis 19:29
God destroyed the cities in the valley, but he remembered what Abraham had said. So God sent Lot away from those cities before destroying them.
Genesis 21:8
Isaac continued to grow, and soon he was old enough to begin eating solid food. So Abraham gave a big party.
Exodus 12:15
For this festival you will eat bread made without yeast for seven days. On the first day, you will remove all the yeast from your houses. No one should eat any yeast for the full seven days of this festival. Anyone who eats yeast must be separated from the rest of Israel.
Exodus 12:39
The people did not have time to put yeast in their bread or make any special food for their journey. So they had to bake their bread without yeast.
Judges 6:19
So Gideon went in and cooked a young goat in boiling water. He also took about 20 pounds of flour and made bread without yeast. Then he put the meat into a basket and the broth from the meat into a pot. He brought out the meat, the broth, and the bread without yeast and gave them to the Lord under the oak tree.
1 Samuel 28:24
The woman had a calf that she had been fattening. She quickly killed the calf. She took some flour and pressed it with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast.
2 Kings 4:8
One day Elisha went to Shunem, where an important woman lived. She asked Elisha to stop and eat at her house. So every time Elisha went through that place, he stopped there to eat.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

:-

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The “trouble” consisted in rebuke” (rather, “chastisement,”) for sins at the hand of God, and “blasphemy” (rather, “reproach,”) at the hands of man.

The children ... - i. e., “we are in a fearful extremity - at the last gasp - and lack the strength that might carry us through the danger.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 19:3. The children are come to the birth — The Jewish state is here represented under the emblem of a woman in travail, who has been so long in the pangs of parturition, that her strength is now entirely exhausted, and her deliverance is hopeless, without a miracle. The image is very fine and highly appropriate.

A similar image is employed by Homer, when he represents the agonies which Agamemnon suffers from his wound: -


Οφρα οἱ αἱμ' ετι θερμον ανηνοθεν εξ ωτειλης·

Λυταρ επει το μεν ἑλκος ετερσετο παυσατο δ' αἱμα,

Οξειαι οδυναι δυνον μενος Ατρειδαο·

Ως δ' ὁταν ωδινουσαν εχῃ βελος οξυ γυναικα,

Δριμυ, το τε προΐεισι μογοστοκοι Ειλειθυιαι

Ἡρης θυγατερες πικ ρας ωδινας εχουσαι·

Ὡς οξει' οδυναι δυνον μενος Ατρειδαο.

Il. xi., ver. 266.

This, while yet warm, distill'd the purple flood;

But when the wound grew stiff with clotted blood,

Then grinding tortures his strong bosom rend.

Less keen those darts the fierce Ilythiae send,

The powers that cause the teeming matron's throes,

Sad mothers of unutterable woes.

POPE.


Better translated by Macpherson; but in neither well: "So long as from the gaping wound gushed forth, in its warmth, the blood; but when the wound became dry, when ceased the blood to flow amain, sharp pains pervade the strength of Atrides. Racking pangs glide through his frame; as when the Ilythiae, who preside over births, the daughters of white armed Juno, fierce dealers of bitter pains, throw all their darts on hapless women, that travail with child. Such pains pervade the strength of Atrides."


 
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