Isaiah 13:9

"They will be dismayed. Pangs and sorrows will seize them. They will be in pain like a woman in labor. They will look in amazement one at another. Their faces will be faces of flame."

Key Reflection

This passage portrays the severe spiritual and emotional distress that will overwhelm the people, evoking images of childbirth pain to emphasize the intense suffering. The mutual shock and confusion among individuals reflect a collective awakening to divine judgment, highlighting both the personal anguish and communal impact of God's wrath.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

The day of the Lord cometh -SeeIsaiah 13:6. Cruel -(אכזרי'akezārı̂y). This does not mean that “God” is cruel, but that the ‘day of Yahweh’ that was coming should be unsparing and destructive to them. It would be the exhibition of “justice,” but not of “cruelty;” and the word stands opposed here to mercy, and means that God would not spare them. The effect would be that the inhabitants of Babylon would be destroyed. Fierce anger -Hebrew, (חרוןאף'aphchărôn) ‘A glow, or burning of anger.’ The phrase denotes the most intense indignation (compareNumbers 25:4;Numbers 32:14;1 Samuel 28:18).

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