4 These are the words the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘Cries of fear are heard—

terror, not peace.

6 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,

every face turned deathly pale?

7 How awful that day will be!

No other will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be saved out of it.

8 “ ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty,

‘I will break the yoke off their necks

and will tear off their bonds;

no longer will foreigners enslave them.

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5 “Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

6 Ask now, and see,

can a man bear a child?

Why then do I see every man

with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor?

Why has every face turned pale?

7 Alas! That day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be saved out of it.

8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and I will burst your bonds, and foreigners shall no more make a servant of him.

4 This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. 5 This is what the Lord says:

“I hear cries of fear;

there is terror and no peace.

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?

7 In all history there has never been such a time of terror.

It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.

Yet in the end they will be saved!

8 For in that day,”

says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,

“I will break the yoke from their necks

and snap their chains.

Foreigners will no longer be their masters.

4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

5 “For thus says the Lord:

‘We have heard a voice of trembling,

Of fear, and not of peace.

6 Ask now, and see,

Whether a man is ever in labor with child?

So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins

Like a woman in labor,

And all faces turned pale?

7 Alas! For that day is great,

So that none is like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,

But he shall be saved out of it.

8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’

Says the Lord of hosts,

‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,

And will burst your bonds;

Foreigners shall no more enslave them.

4 The Lord spoke this message about the people of Israel and Judah: 5 This is what the Lord said:

“We hear people crying from fear.

They are afraid; there is no peace.

6 Ask this question, and consider it:

A man cannot have a baby.

So why do I see every strong man

holding his stomach in pain like a woman having a baby?

Why is everyone’s face turning white like a dead man’s face?

7 This will be a terrible day!

There will never be another time like this.

This is a time of great trouble for the people of Jacob,

but they will be saved from it.”

8 The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time

I will break the yoke from their necks

and tear off the ropes that hold them.

Foreign people will never again make my people slaves.

4 And these are the words that Jehovah spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondman;

4 And these are the words that Jehovah hath spoken concerning Israel and concerning Judah; 5 for thus saith Jehovah: We have heard a voice of trembling, there is fear, and no peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see, whether a male doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail; and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more reduce him to servitude.

4 This is the message that the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah: 5 “This is what the Lord says: 

“We hear cries of fear, cries of panic, not cries of peace. 

6 Ask now, and see: Can a man give birth to a child? 

Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain 

like a woman giving birth to a child? 

Why has every face turned pale? 

7 How terrible that day will be! 

There will be no other day like it. 

It will be a time of calamity for the descendants of Jacob, 

but they will be rescued from it. 

8 “On that day,” declares the Lord of Armies, “I will break the yokesoff your necks and tear off your ropes. Foreigners will no longer make you serve them.

4 These are the words the Lord spoke to Israel and Judah. 5 Yes, this is what the Lord says:

We have heard a cry of terror,

of dread—there is no peace.

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?

7 How awful that day will be!

There will be none like it!

It will be a time of trouble for Jacob,

but he will be delivered out of it.

8 “On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“I will break his yoke from your neck and tear off your chains so strangers will never again enslave him.

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5 Thus says the Lord:

We have heard a cry of panic,

of terror, and no peace.

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?

7 Alas! that day is so great

there is none like it;

it is a time of distress for Jacob;

yet he shall be rescued from it.

8 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will break the yoke from off his neck, and I will burst his bonds, and strangers shall no more make a servant of him.

4 Now these are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 “For thus says Yahweh:

‘We have heard a sound of trembling,

terror, and there is no peace.

6 Ask please and see whether a male can bear a child.

Why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his loins like a woman giving birth?

And why are all their faces changed to paleness?

7 Alas! For that day is great,

there is none like it.

And it is a time of distress for Jacob,

yet from it he will be delivered.

8 And it will happen on that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts,

‘I will break his yoke from your neck

and your bonds I will tear to pieces.

And strangers will no longer let him work as a slave.

4 Here are the words the Lord spoke about Israel and Judah. He said, 5 “I am the Lord. I say,

“ ‘Cries of fear are heard.

There is terror. There isn’t any peace.

6 Ask and see.

Can a man give birth to children?

Then why do I see every strong man

with his hands on his stomach?

Each of them is acting like a woman having a baby.

Every face is as pale as death.

7 How awful that day will be!

No other day will be like it.

It will be a time of trouble for the people of Jacob.

But they will be saved out of it.

8 “ ‘At that time I will break the yoke off their necks,’

announces the Lord who rules over all.

‘I will tear off the ropes that hold them.

People from other lands will not make them slaves anymore.

4 Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

5 “For thus says the Lord,

‘I have heard a sound of terror,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

6 ‘Ask now, and see

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

7 ‘Alas! for that day is great,

There is none like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,

But he will be saved from it.

8 ‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves.