³¹ For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
    anguish as of one bringing forth her first child,
the cry of daughter Zion gasping for breath,
    stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before killers!”^(A)

²¹ What will you say when they set as head over you
    those whom you have trained
    to be your allies?
Will not pangs seize you
    like those of a woman in labor?^(A)

²³ O inhabitant of Lebanon,
    nested among the cedars,
how you will groan^[a] when pangs come upon you,
    pain as of a woman in labor!

⁶ Ask now and see:
    Can a man bear a child?
Why then do I see every man
    with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor?
    Why has every face turned pale?^(A)

⁸ See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north
    and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
    those with child and those in labor together;
    a great company, they shall return here.^(A)

⁴¹ the towns^[a] shall be taken
    and the strongholds seized.
The hearts of the warriors of Moab, on that day,
    shall be like the heart of a woman in labor.^(A)

²⁴ Damascus has become feeble; she turned to flee,
    and panic seized her;
anguish and pangs seize her,
    as of a woman in labor.