Isaiah 21:3

3 Therefore my loins are filled [with] anguish; pangs have seized me, like [the] pangs of a woman giving birth. I am {too bent to hear}, I am {too dismayed to see}.

Isaiah 21:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 21:3

Therefore are my loins filled with pain
As a woman at the time of childbirth, as the following words show: these words are spoken by the prophet, not with respect to himself, as if he was pained at heart at the prophecy and vision he had of the ruin of Babylon, since that was a mortal enemy of his people; and besides, their sighing being made to cease could never be a reason of distress in him, but of joy: these words are spoken by him in the person of the Babylonians, and particularly of Belshazzar their king: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that
travaileth;
which come suddenly and at once, are very sharp and strong, and inevitable, which cannot be escaped; so the sudden destruction of the wicked, and particularly of antichrist at the last day, and the terror that shall attend it, are expressed by the same metaphor, ( 1 Thessalonians 5:2 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ) : I was bowed down at the hearing [of it];
distorted and convulsed; not the prophet at the hearing of the prophecy, but Belshazzar, whom he personated, at hearing that Cyrus had entered the city, and was at the gates of his palace: I was dismayed at the seeing [of it];
the handwriting upon the wall, at which his countenance changed, his thoughts were troubled, his loins loosed, and his knees smote one against another, ( Daniel 5:6 ) .

Isaiah 21:3 In-Context

1 The oracle of [the] wilderness of [the] sea: As storm winds passing over in the Negev, {it comes} from [the] desert, from a frightful land.
2 A hard revelation is told to me; the treacherous deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; lay siege, Media! I put an end to all of her sighing.
3 Therefore my loins are filled [with] anguish; pangs have seized me, like [the] pangs of a woman giving birth. I am {too bent to hear}, I am {too dismayed to see}.
4 My {mind} staggers; fear terrifies me; the twilight {I desired} {brought} me fear.
5 Set out the table in order! Spread out the rugs! Eat! drink! Rise up, commanders; smear [the] shield!

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Literally "bent from hearing," which could also mean "bent because of what I heard"
  • [b]. Literally "dismayed from seeing," which could also mean "dismayed because of what I saw"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.