Add parallel Print Page Options

    Ask and see for yourself:
        can a man give birth to a child?
    Then why do I see strong men clutching themselves,
        their hands on their abdomens as if they are in labor?
    Why has every face paled, looking sickly?
    I will tell you why:
        for that great and awesome day is like no other.
    It will be a time of suffering for Jacob’s descendants;
        still they will be rescued from it.

For on that day of deliverance, declares the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, I will break Nebuchadnezzar’s yoke off their necks and tear off their shackles; no longer will foreigners force them into slavery.

Read full chapter

Ask and see:
    Can a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
    with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor,(A)
    every face turned deathly pale?(B)
How awful that day(C) will be!
    No other will be like it.
It will be a time of trouble(D) for Jacob,
    but he will be saved(E) out of it.

“‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,
    ‘I will break the yoke(F) off their necks
and will tear off their bonds;(G)
    no longer will foreigners enslave them.(H)

Read full chapter