⁶ Trembling seized them there,
agony like that of a woman in labor,^(A)

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.

²¹ What will you say when He appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won’t labor pains seize you,^(A)
as they do a woman in labor?

²³ You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan^[a] when labor 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?

⁴³ The king of Babylon has heard reports about them,
and his hands fall helpless.
Distress has seized him—
pain, like a woman in labor.^(A)