Bible Strands
Isaiah 37:3
to tell 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The messengers sent by Hezekiah deliver his report to the prophet Isaiah while Judah faces imminent Assyrian invasion.
The words — צָרָה (tza.Rah) denotes distress, and תוֹכֵחָה (to.khe.Chah) denotes rebuke, marking the dual weight of external threat and divine correction.
The thread — This labor imagery recurs in Isaiah 66:9 and Hosea 13:13, and the identical message is recorded in 2 Kings 19:3.
Why it lands — The text states that a nation can reach the point of crisis with no strength to resolve it. This requires a reader to abandon self-reliance and direct attention to God’s intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 66:9 Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?” says the LORD. “Or will I who deliver close the womb?” says your God.
- Hosea 13:13 Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
- 2 Kings 19:3 to tell 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.
- Psalms 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Isaiah 26:17 As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
- Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.
- 2 Chronicles 15:4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them.
- Psalms 91:15 When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 95:8 do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Revelation 3:19 Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.