Isaiah 37:3
ESV
They said to him, "Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
NIV
They told him, "This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
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.
CSB
They said to him, "This is what Hezekiah says: ‘Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace. It is as if 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.
KJV
And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of 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.
What does Isaiah 37:3 mean?
King Hezekiah and the leaders of Jerusalem have finally humbled themselves enough to hear God's words as spoken by His prophet (Isaiah 30:9–12). This has only happened because Jerusalem appears doomed to defeat at the hands of the nearby, massive Assyrian army (Isaiah 36:1–3, 18–20). With no other options, they turn to God for help (Isaiah 37:1–2).Hezekiah's message to Isaiah is an admission of failure and humiliation. The king takes responsibility, on behalf of himself and Judah, for their circumstances. He has been disgraced by the Assyrian messenger (Isaiah 36:4) in the hearing of his people (Isaiah 36:12–13). He has no power to answer back.
The situation is like a woman struggling in a difficult birth who has run out of strength. In the ancient world, complications of childbirth could lead to death. Some of those troubles could only be helped by an outsider such as a midwife. Jerusalem's situation is like this: drained, without hope, and expecting death to crash down any moment. Without God's intervention (Isaiah 37:4), they will surely be lost.
Neither the people of ancient Jerusalem, nor believers in the modern world, need to wait until all hope seems lost to turn to the Lord. We don't have to wait for a situation to seem hopeless from a human perspective before admitting we need God to provide a solution.
