⁶ Fear grips all the people;
    every face grows pale with terror.

¹⁰ Soon the city is plundered, empty, and ruined.
    Hearts melt and knees shake.
The people stand aghast,
    their faces pale and trembling.

⁸     and people are terrified.
Pangs of anguish grip them,
    like those of a woman in labor.
They look helplessly at one another,
    their faces aflame with fear.

⁶ Now let me ask you a question:
    Do men give birth to babies?
Then why do they stand there, ashen-faced,
    hands pressed against their sides
    like a woman in labor?

⁸ But now their faces are blacker than soot.
    No one recognizes them in the streets.
Their skin sticks to their bones;
    it is as dry and hard as wood.

²¹ I hurt with the hurt of my people.
    I mourn and am overcome with grief.