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English Standard Version

Isaiah 13:8

They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Birth;   Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Travail;   Women;   The Topic Concordance - Day of the Lord;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Babylon;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Babylon;   Isaiah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Babylon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Birth;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Nahum (2);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Birth;   Isaiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Isaiah, Book of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Babylon ;   Thessalonians, Epistles to the;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Medes;   Rebels;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Babylon;   Messiah;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Flames;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Flame;   Form;   Isaiah;   Pain;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Eschatology;   Jeremiah, Book of;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for February 20;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They will be horrified;pain and agony will seize them;they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.They will look at each other,their faces flushed with fear.
Hebrew Names Version
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame.
King James Version
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
New American Standard Bible
They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.
New Century Version
Everyone will be afraid. Pain and hurt will grab them; they will hurt like a woman giving birth to a baby. They will look at each other in fear, with their faces red like fire.
Amplified Bible
They [of Babylon] will be shocked and terrified, Pains and anguish will grip them; They will be in pain like a woman in childbirth. They will stare aghast and horrified at one another, Their faces aflame [from the effects of the unprecedented warfare].
World English Bible
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they shalbe afraid: anguish and sorowe shal take them, and they shal haue paine, as a woman that trauaileth: euery one shall be amased at his neighbour, and their faces shalbe like flames of fire.
Legacy Standard Bible
They will be terrified,Pains and labor pangs will take hold of them;They will writhe like a woman in labor,They will look at one another in astonishment,Their faces aflame.
Berean Standard Bible
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look in astonishment at one another, their faces aflame with fear.
Contemporary English Version
Everyone will tremble with pain like a woman giving birth; they will stare at each other with horror on their faces.
Complete Jewish Bible
They will be gripped by panic, seized with pain and agony, writhing like a woman in labor, looking aghast at each other, faces aflame.
Darby Translation
and they shall be terrified: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them, they shall writhe as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another, their faces shall be as flames.
Easy-to-Read Version
Everyone will be afraid. They will stare at each other with shock on their faces. Fear will grip them like the pains of a woman in childbirth.
George Lamsa Translation
And they shall be afraid; terror and pangs shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
Good News Translation
They will all be terrified and overcome with pain, like the pain of a woman in labor. They will look at each other in fear, and their faces will burn with shame.
Lexham English Bible
and they will be dismayed. Pangs and labor pains will seize them; they will tremble like a woman giving birth. They will stare at one another, their faces flushing.
Literal Translation
and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain like one giving birth; they shall be amazed, each man to his neighbor; faces of flames shall be their faces.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
they shal stonde in feare, carefulnesse and sorowe shal come vpo them, and they shal haue payne, as a woman that traueleth with childe. One shall euer be aba?shed of another, & their faces shal burne, like ye flame.
American Standard Version
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.
Bible in Basic English
Their hearts will be full of fear; pains and sorrows will overcome them; they will be in pain like a woman in childbirth; they will be shocked at one another; their faces will be like flames.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they shall be affrighted; pangs and throes shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail; they shall look aghast one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.
King James Version (1611)
And they shalbe afraid: pangs and sorrowes shall take hold of them, they shalbe in paine as a woman that trauelleth: they shalbe amazed one at another, their faces shalbe as flames.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
They shall stande in feare, carefulnes and sorowe shall come vpon them, and they shal haue payne, as a woman that trauayleth with chylde: One shalbe abashed of another, and their faces shall burne like the flame of fire.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The elders shall be troubled, and pangs shall seize them, as of a woman in travail: and they shall mourn one to another, and shall be amazed, and shall change their countenance as a flame.
English Revised Version
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be faces of flame.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and schal be al to-brokun. Gnawyngis and sorewis schulen holde Babiloyns; thei schulen haue sorewe, as they that trauelen of child. Ech man schal wondre at his neiybore; her cheris schulen be brent faces.
Update Bible Version
and they shall be dismayed; pangs and sorrows shall take hold [of them]; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces [shall be] faces of flame.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces [shall be as] flames.
New English Translation
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.
New King James Version
And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
New Living Translation
and people are terrified. Pangs of anguish grip them, like those of a woman in labor. They look helplessly at one another, their faces aflame with fear.
New Life Bible
They will be filled with fear. Pain and suffering will take hold of them. They will suffer like a woman giving birth. They will look surprised at one another, their faces burning.
New Revised Standard
and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they shall be in distress - Writhings and pains, shall lay hold, As a woman in childbirth, shall they be in pangs, - Everyone, at his neighbour, shall look in amazement, Faces of flames, their faces!
Douay-Rheims Bible
And shall be broken. Gripings and pains, shall take hold of them, they shall be in pain as a woman in labour. Every one shall be amazed at his neighbour, their countenances shall be as faces burnt.
Revised Standard Version
and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in travail. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
Young's Literal Translation
And they have been troubled, Pains and pangs they take, As a travailing woman they are pained, A man at his friend they marvel, The appearance of flames -- their faces!
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.

Contextual Overview

6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! 7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. 8 They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. 9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. 12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, each will turn to his own people, and each will flee to his own land. 15 Whoever is found will be thrust through, and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

pangs: Isaiah 21:3, Isaiah 21:4, Isaiah 26:17, Psalms 48:5, Psalms 48:6, Jeremiah 30:6, Jeremiah 50:43, Daniel 5:5, Daniel 5:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:3

be amazed one at another: Heb. wonder every man at his neighbour

flames: Heb. faces of the flames, Joel 2:6, Nahum 2:10

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:16 - in sorrow Judges 20:41 - were amazed Job 4:15 - the hair Psalms 18:4 - sorrows Psalms 69:24 - take Jeremiah 4:31 - I have heard Jeremiah 13:21 - shall not Jeremiah 27:7 - until Jeremiah 48:41 - as the heart Jeremiah 49:22 - the heart of the Jeremiah 51:30 - The mighty Ezekiel 7:17 - hands Hosea 13:13 - sorrows Micah 4:9 - for

Cross-References

Genesis 13:2
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Genesis 13:3
And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai,
Genesis 13:6
so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,
Genesis 13:7
and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.
Genesis 13:9
Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left."
Genesis 13:11
So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.
Genesis 13:14
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward,
Genesis 13:17
Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you."
Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord .
Genesis 45:24
Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, "Do not quarrel on the way."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they shall be afraid,.... Troubled, dismayed, frightened, at the sudden taking of the city, and at the sight of Cyrus's troops marching up into the very heart of it, and to the king's palace:

pangs and sorrow shall take hold of them; as convulsions, pains in the bowels, c. more fully explained in the next clause:

they shall be in pain, as a woman that travaileth that is in labour, and ready to bring forth her child, whose pains are very sharp, and agonies great; the same is said of the king of Babylon,

Jeremiah 50:43:

they shall be amazed one at another; that so great a city should be so surprised, and so suddenly taken; and that they shall not be able to help one another; and that such as were so famous for courage and valour should be at once so dispirited:

their faces [shall be as] flames; not red with blushing, through shame, as Kimchi; but pale with fear, as the colour of flame, or, as the faces of smiths, that work at a forge: the words may be rendered, "their faces are as the faces of Lehabim" d; the name of a people mentioned in Genesis 10:13 the same with the Libians, which were of a blackish or tawny colour; so Jarchi interprets it, and says they were a people of a yellow complexion: and Aben Ezra observes, that some interpret it of a nation like the Ethiopians; and so it denotes, that the Babylonians, their faces should be black with distress and anguish; see Joel 2:6.

d פני להבים פניהם "ut facies Lehabim, [sive] Lybiorum facies eorum", Gataker.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth - This comparison is often used in the Scriptures to denote the deepest possible pain and sorrow, as well as the suddenness with which any calamity comes upon a people Psalms 48:6; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 42:14; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43; Hosea 13:13; Micah 4:9-10; John 16:21; Galatians 4:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

They shall be amazed one at another - They shall stare with a stupid gaze on one another, indicating a state of great distress, anxiety, and alarm. They shall look to each other for aid, and shall meet in the countenances of others the same expressions of wonder and consternation.

Their faces shall be as flames - Their faces shall glow or burn like fire. When grief and anguish come upon us, the face becomes inflamed. The face in fear is usually pale. But the idea here is not so much that of fear as of anguish; and, perhaps, there is mingled also here the idea of indignation against their invaders.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 13:8. And they shall be afraid - "And they shall be terrified"] I join this verb, ונבהלו venibhalu, to the preceding verse, with the Syriac and Vulgate.

Pangs and sorrows shall take hold on them - "Pangs shall seize them"] The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read יאחזום yochezum, instead of יאחזון yochezun, which does not express the pronoun them, necessary to the sense.


 
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