Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 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 ] Nah 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
3, 4. The agitation and terror of the prophet.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Therefore – In this verse, and the following, the prophet represents himself as in Babylon, and as a witness of the calamities which would come upon the city. He describes the sympathy which he feels in her sorrows, and represents himself as deeply affected by her calamities. A similar description occurred in the pain which the prophet represents himself as enduring on account of the calamities of Moab (see Isa 15:5, note; Isa 16:11, note).
My loins – (see the note at Isa 16:11).
With pain – The word used here ( chalchalah) denotes properly the pains of parturition, and the whole figure is taken from that. The sense is, that the prophet was filled with the most acute sorrow and anguish, in view of the calamities which were coming on Babylon. That is, the sufferings of Babylon would be indescribably great and dreadful (see Nah 2:11; Eze 30:4, Eze 30:9).
I was bowed down – Under the grief and sorrow produced by these calamities.
At the hearing it – The Hebrew may have this sense, and mean that these things were made to pass before the eye of the prophet, and that the sight oppressed him, and bowed him down. But more probably the Hebrew letter (m) in the word mishemoa’ is to be taken privatively, and means, I was so bowed down or oppressed that I could not see; I was so dismayed that I could not hear; that is, all his senses were taken away by the greatness of the calamity, and by his sympathetic sufferings. A similar construction occurs in Psa 69:23 : Let their eyes be darkened that they see not ( mere‘oth) that is, from seeing.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
My loins; which he mentions with respect to the following similitude of child-bearing, in which the loins are sorely pained. And this the prophet speaks, either,
1. In the name and person of the Babylonian. Or rather,
2. In his own name; which is most natural, and agrees best with the last clause of the verse, which plainly speaks of the torment which he had in the mere hearing of the word, and seeing the vision, and not of that which they had in the feeling of it; although the latter is implied in the former; and the prophet expresseth his horror in hearing and seeing, to intimate the dreadful horror which should seize upon them when it came upon them.
As the pangs of a woman that travaileth; sharp and grievous pains.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Isaiah imagines himself amongthe exiles in Babylon and cannot help feeling moved by the calamitieswhich come on it. So for Moab (Isa 15:5;Isa 16:11).
pain(Compare Isa 13:8;Eze 30:4; Eze 30:19;Nah 2:10).
at the hearingTheHebrew may mean, “I was so bowed down that I could nothear; I was so dismayed that I could not see“(Gen 16:2; Psa 69:23)[MAURER].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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, 1Th 5:2:
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, Da 5:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Here again, as in the case of the prophecy concerning Moab, what the prophet has given to him to see does not pass without exciting his feelings of humanity, but works upon him like a horrible dream. “Therefore are my loins full of cramp: pangs have taken hold of me, as the pangs of a travailing woman: I twist myself, so that I do not hear; I am brought down with fear, so that I do not see. My heart beats wildly; horror hath troubled me: the darkness of night that I love, he hath turned for me into quaking.” The prophet does not describe in detail what he saw; but the violent agitation produced by the impression leads us to conclude how horrible it must have been. Chalchalah is the contortion produced by cramp, as in Nah 2:11; tzirim is the word properly applied to the pains of childbirth; naavah means to bend, or bow one’s self, and is also used to denote a convulsive utterance of pain; taah , which is used in a different sense from Psa 95:10 (compare, however, Psa 38:11), denotes a feverish and irregular beating of the pulse. The darkness of evening and night, which the prophet loved so much ( cheshek , a desire arising from inclination, 1Ki 9:1, 1Ki 9:19), and always longed for, either that he might give himself up to contemplation, or that he might rest from outward and inward labour, had bee changed into quaking by the horrible vision. It is quite impossible to imagine, as Umbreit suggests, that nesheph chishki (the darkness of my pleasure) refers to the nocturnal feast during which Babylon was stormed (Herod. i. 191, and Xenophon, Cyrop. vii. 23).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. Therefore are my loins, filled with pain. Here the Prophet represents the people as actually present, for it was not enough to have simply foretold the destruction of Babylon, if he had not confirmed the belief of the godly in such a manner that they felt as if the actual event were placed before their eyes. Such a representation was necessary, and the Prophet does not here describe the feelings of his own heart, as if he had compassion on the Babylonians, but, on the contrary, as we have formerly said, (67) he assumes, for the time, the character of a Babylonian. (68) It ought undoubtedly to satisfy our minds that the hidden judgments of God are held out to us, as in a mirror, that they may arouse the sluggishness of our faith; and therefore the Prophets describe with greater beauty and copiousness, and paint in lively colors, those things which exceed the capacity of our reason. The Prophet, thus expressing his grief, informs believers how awful is the vengeance of God which awaits the Chaldeans, and how dreadfully they will be punished, as we are struck with surprise and horror when any sad intelligence is brought to us.
As the pangs of a woman that travaileth. He adds a stronger expression of grief, when he compares it to that of a woman in labor, as when a person under fearful anguish turns every way, and writhes in every part of his body. Such modes of expression are employed by the Prophets on account of our sluggishness, for we do not perceive the judgments of God till they be pointed at, as it were, with the finger, and affect our senses. We are warned to be on our guard before they arrive.
(67) Bogus footnote
(68) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(3) Therefore are my loins filled with pain . . .Comp. Nah. 2:10; Eze. 21:6; and for the image of the woman in travail, Isa. 13:8; Jer. 30:6. The vision of destruction is so terrible that it over-powers all feeling of exultation, and oppresses the prophet like a horrible nightmare.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3, 4. Loins filled with pain In these verses is described the experiences of a mind frenzied by a prospective view of Babylonian wrongs. The words here, taking full effect upon the reader, make him not merely to sympathize with the prophet he in a measure feels the pains of the prophet.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 21:3-5. Therefore are my loins filled with pain, &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 upon this occasion. See ch. Isa 15:5 Isa 16:8-9. Luk 21:26. The expression, The night of my pleasure, alludes to the remarkable circumstance of Babylon’s being taken in the night of an annual festival, which is more fully set forth in the fifth verse. Vitringa renders it very properly, The table is spread: the watchman stands upon the watch; they eat; they drink: Arise now, ye princes, &c. where, as in a picture, the revelling of the Babylonians is described, when the divine command is given to the Medes and Persians to seize this proper moment; Arise, ye princes; anoint the shield, which is to the same purpose with what Jeremiah says, Jer 51:11; Jer 51:28, &c. To anoint the shield is, in this place, by synecdoche, Prepare your arms; and so the Chaldee paraphrast, wipe, and make bright your arms. It is remarkable, that Cyrus, when all things were prepared to invade Babylon, uses words very similar to these of the prophet, “But come, arise; prepare your arms; I will lead you on by the help of the gods.” See Herod. lib. 1: cap. 191 and Xenoph. Cyropoed lib. 7. Nothing can be more remarkable than the completion of this prophesy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Here the Prophet describes as it should seem, the terrible consternation and alarm, the impious monarch of Babylon would be thrown into, in the memorable night of his destruction. Let the Reader compare what is here said with Dan 5:30Dan 5:30 . And how often in modern times, hath the last hours of notorious sinners been followed with similar alarms in their guilty consciences!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 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].
Ver. 3. Therefore are my loins filled with pains. ] I, Babylon, or I, Belshazzar, am in a woe case. This is here set forth by a notable hypotyposis, ac si res ipsa iam tum gereretur, persona regis in se per mimesin assumpta, a acting Belshazzar’s part. (as Dan 5:5-6 , where we may read this prophecy punctually fulfilled)
I was bowed down at the hearing of it.
a Zeged.
b Oecolamp.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
are: Isa 15:5, Isa 16:9, Isa 16:11, Hab 3:16
pangs have: Isa 13:8, Isa 26:17, Psa 48:6, Jer 48:41, Jer 49:22, Jer 50:43, Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10, 1Th 5:3
I was bowed: Deu 28:67, Dan 5:5, Dan 5:6
Reciprocal: Gen 3:16 – in sorrow 1Sa 28:5 – he was afraid Job 4:15 – the hair Psa 69:23 – make their Psa 73:19 – they are Jer 4:9 – that the heart Jer 4:19 – My bowels Jer 4:31 – I have heard Jer 6:24 – anguish Jer 13:21 – shall not Jer 30:6 – every Jer 50:24 – and thou wast Jer 51:31 – to show Jer 51:46 – a rumour shall Eze 21:6 – with the Hos 13:13 – sorrows Amo 8:10 – I will turn Mic 1:8 – I will wail Nah 2:10 – and much Luk 6:25 – mourn
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 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 Isa 15:5; Isa 16:8-9; Luk 21:26. He speaks of his loins being filled with pain, with a reference to the following similitude of child- bearing. Pangs have taken hold on me Sharp and grievous pains, or extreme anguish, as the word properly means, torments like those of a woman in labour. I was, or, rather, I am, bowed down Oppressed with an intolerable load of sorrow and distress, at the hearing of it Hebrew, , that I cannot (that is, cannot endure to) hear it. So Dr. Waterland, who reads the three next clauses thus: I am dismayed that l cannot see it: my heart panteth: horror confounds me. Such was the distress and anguish, the confusion and dismay, undoubtedly, of myriads of the inhabitants of Babylon, on the night when the city was unexpectedly taken; and particularly of Belshazzar, when he saw the hand that wrote, and the writing on the wall, and especially when he heard Daniels interpretation of it. Then, indeed, was the night of his pleasure turned into fear unto him, in which remarkable words the prophet alludes to the circumstance of Babylons being taken in the night of an annual festival, while the inhabitants were dancing, drinking, and revelling, which is more fully set forth in the next verse. According to Herodotus, the extreme parts of the city were in the hands of the enemy, before they, who dwelt in the middle of it, knew any thing of their danger.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:3 Therefore are my {f} 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].
(f) This the prophet speaks in the person of the Babylonians.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The thought that God would destroy Babylon completely undid the prophet (cf. Isa 13:7-8). His reaction evidences some compassion for the Babylonians, even though they were a threat to Judah’s security, as well as shock that the destruction would be so great.