⁸ They will be horrified;
pain and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.^(A)
They will look at each other,
their faces flushed with fear.

³¹ I hear a cry like a woman in labor,^(A)
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands:^(B)
“Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!”

²³ You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan^[a] when pains come on you,
agony like a woman in labor.^(A)

⁶ Ask and see
whether a male can give birth.
Why then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor
and every face turned pale?^(A)

⁴³ The king of Babylon has heard about them;
his hands have become weak.
Distress has seized him—
pain, like a woman in labor.^(A)

⁹ Now, why are you shouting loudly?^(A)
Is there no king with you?
Has your counselor perished^(B)
so that anguish grips you like a woman in labor?
¹⁰ Writhe and cry out,^[a](C) Daughter Zion,
like a woman in labor,
for now you will leave the city^(D)
and camp in the open fields.
You will go to Babylon;
there you will be rescued;^(E)
there the Lord will redeem you^(F)
from the grasp of your enemies!