Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet isn't just reporting a vision; he's feeling the agonizing distress of Babylon's fall as if it were his own. He uses the intense, unavoidable pain of childbirth to convey the overwhelming and inescapable nature of the coming destruction, a suffering so profound it blinds and deafens him.
Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet Isaiah, receiving a vision of impending judgment, describes his overwhelming personal distress and horror at what he sees and hears about the fall of Babylon. This intense personal reaction, like a woman in labor, sets the stage for understanding the magnitude of the destruction to come. The following verses will reveal the details of this terrifying vision, showing the enemy's advance and the city's ultimate demise.
Why would Isaiah feel pain over the downfall of a nation that oppressed his people?
Isaiah isn't experiencing personal distress for Babylon's sake. Instead, he's stepping into the role of the devastated city and its people. This prophetic empathy allows him to vividly portray the overwhelming shock and horror of Babylon's sudden destruction.
Bearing the Vision
What makes the suddenness of disaster so terrifying?
The verse highlights the crippling effect of unexpected calamity. The prophet's senses are overwhelmed, rendering him unable to process what's happening.
Senses Overwhelmed
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Understand the original words
motnayim · Hebrew Noun
The physical seat of emotions, strength, and life. To have one's loins "filled with anguish" suggests a deep, visceral, and overwhelming bodily reaction to a distressing or terrifying revelation.
tsir · Hebrew Noun
Intense, sharp pain or distress. Often used metaphorically for the sudden onset of inescapable agony or the acute discomfort experienced during extreme crisis or judgment.
Isaiah's vision of anguish depicts the terrifying downfall of Babylon, not as a distant event, but as an immediate, visceral experience. This profound suffering serves as a stark contrast to the joy the Jews would later experience with their return from exile.
c. 539 BC— this verse
Fall of Babylon to Persia
Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian Empire, conquers Babylon. This event fulfills prophecies concerning Babylon's destruction and marks a shift in regional power.
538 BC
Cyrus's Decree for Jewish Return
Following the conquest of Babylon, Cyrus issues a decree allowing exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.
c. 536 BC
First Return of Exiles
A significant number of Jewish exiles, led by figures like Zerubbabel, begin their return to Judea, marking the start of the Second Temple period.
This passage uses the same powerful imagery of a woman in labor to describe the intense distress and anguish of a nation facing God's judgment, mirroring the prophet's experience in Isaiah.
Nahum 2:10This verse directly echoes Isaiah's description, with cities melting and loins being filled with pangs, highlighting the shared theme of utter devastation and fear before an invading force.
Luke 21:26Jesus uses a similar image of men fainting from fear and apprehension of what is coming upon the world, connecting the prophet's personal anguish to the broader eschatological dread of divine judgment.
Daniel 5:6This passage describes King Belshazzar's physical and emotional reaction to the writing on the wall, showing how the very person experiencing the downfall of Babylon would manifest the 'pangs' and dismay Isaiah describes.
bensonIsaiah 21:3: "Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it."
Isaiah 21:3-4 . Therefore my loins, &c. — “We have here a symbolical description of the greatness of the Babylonish calamity; the prophet exhibiting in himself, as in a figure, an emblem of the extreme distress, consternation, and horror, which should ensue on this occasion.” See Isaiah 15:5 ; I…
cambridgeIsaiah 21:3: "Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it."
3 . are my loins filled with pain ] Nahum 2:10 . I was bowed down at the hearing …] or, as R.V. I am pained so that I cannot hear , &c. Similar metaphorical descriptions of mental anguish are frequent. 3, 4 . The agitation and terror of the prophet.
The prophet isn't just reporting a vision; he's feeling the agonizing distress of Babylon's fall as if it were his own. He uses the intense, unavoidable pain of childbirth to convey the overwhelming and inescapable nature of the coming destruction, a suffering so profound it blinds and deafens him.
The prophet Isaiah, receiving a vision of impending judgment, describes his overwhelming personal distress and horror at what he sees and hears about the fall of Babylon. This intense personal reaction, like a woman in labor, sets the stage for understanding the magnitude of the destruction to come. The following verses will reveal the details of this terrifying vision, showing the enemy's advance and the city's ultimate demise.
The prophet Isaiah, receiving a vision of impending judgment, describes his overwhelming personal distress and horror at what he sees and hears about the fall of Babylon. This intense personal reaction, like a woman in labor, sets the stage for understanding the magnitude of the destruction to come. The following verses will reveal the details of this terrifying vision, showing the enemy's advance and the city's ultimate demise.
"Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see." — The prophet isn't just reporting a vision; he's feeling the agonizing distress of Babylon's fall as if it were his own. He uses the intense, unavoidable pain of childbirth to convey the overwhelmin…
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Last reviewed October 2026