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.
Parallel translations
- WEB They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘Today is a day of trouble, of rebuke, and of rejection; for the children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.
- KJV And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.
- NKJV And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
- NASB And they said to him, “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation; for children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to deliver them.
- NLT They told him, “This is what King Hezekiah says: Today is a day of trouble, insults, and disgrace. It is like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to deliver the baby.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hezekiah describes the day as one of trouble, rebuke, and rejection, like a birth without strength to deliver. He confesses utter helplessness before God.
Overview
Through his messengers, Hezekiah likens the crisis to a labor that has reached its critical point but lacks the strength to bring forth life. The vivid image conveys total inability to save themselves. This honest confession of weakness is the posture in which God delights to show his power. It anticipates the gospel truth that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 66:9Shall 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.
- Jer 30:5–7Yes, this is what the LORD says: “A cry of panic is heard—a cry of terror, not of peace.
- Isa 26:17–18As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
- Heb 3:15–16As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”
- Hos 13:13Labor 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.
- Ps 39:11You discipline and correct a man for his iniquity, consuming like a moth what he holds dear; surely each man is but a vapor. Selah
- Hos 5:15Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
- Ps 95:8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
- Ps 123:3–4Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- 2 Kgs 18:29This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you; he cannot deliver you from my hand.
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 19:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.