"Whatwill you saywhenHe appointsoveryou-- And you yourselfhad taughtthem-- Former companionsto be headoveryou? Will not pangstakeholdof you Likea womanin childbirth?
So Ahazsentmessengersto Tiglath-pileserkingof Assyria,saying,"I am your servantand your son;comeup and deliverme from the handof the kingof Aramand from the handof the kingof Israel,who are risingup againstme."
Now whatwill you doin the dayof punishment,And in the devastationwhich will comefrom afar?To whomwill you fleefor help?And wherewill you leaveyour wealth?
They will be terrified,Painsand anguishwill takeholdof [them]; They will writhelike a woman in labor,They will lookat oneanotherin astonishment,Their facesaflame.
For thisreasonmy loinsare fullof anguish;Painshave seizedme like the painsof a woman in labor.I am sobewilderedI cannothear,soterrifiedI cannotsee.
"Keepyour feetfrom being unshodAnd your throatfrom thirst;But you said,It is hopeless!No!For I have lovedstrangers,And afterthem I will walk.'
"You who dwellin Lebanon,Nestedin the cedars,Howyou will groanwhen pangscomeupon you, Painlike a woman in childbirth!
Asknow,and seeIfa malecan givebirth.Whydo I seeeveryman[With] his handson his loins,as a woman in childbirth?And [why] have allfacesturnedpale?
Then behold,allof the womenwhohave been leftin the palaceof the kingof Judahare going to be broughtout to the officersof the kingof Babylon;and thosewomenwill say,"Your closefriendsHave misledand overpoweredyou; While your feetwere sunkin the mire,They turnedback."
And you, O desolateone, whatwill you do?Althoughyou dressin scarlet,Althoughyou decorate[yourself with] ornamentsof gold,Althoughyou enlargeyour eyeswith paint,In vainyou makeyourself beautiful.[Your] loversdespiseyou; They seekyour life.
For I hearda cryas of a woman in labor,The anguishas of one givingbirthto her firstchild,The cryof the daughterof Ziongaspingfor breath,Stretchingout her hands,[saying], "Ah,woeis me, for I faintbefore murderers."
"Keriothhas been capturedAnd the strongholdshave been seized,So the heartsof the mightymenof Moabin that dayWill be like the heartof a womanin labor.
The prophetsprophesyfalsely,And the priestsruleon their [own] authority;And My peopleloveit so!But whatwill you doat the endof it?
We have heardthe reportof it; Our handsare limp.Anguishhas seizedus, Painas of a woman in childbirth.
Will you stillsay,"I am a god,"In the presenceof your slayer,Though you are a manand not God,In the handsof those who woundyou?
"But allthese thingsare [merely] the beginningof birth pangs.
Whilethey are saying,"Peaceand safety!"thendestructionwill comeupon them suddenlylikelabor painsupon a woman with child,and they will not escape.
