The Meaning of 2 Kings 19:3 Explained

2 Kings 19:3

KJV: And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

YLT: and they say unto him, 'Thus said Hezekiah -- A day of distress, and rebuke, and despising is this day; for come have sons unto the birth, and power there is not to bring forth.

Darby: And they said to him, Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke and of reviling; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

ASV: And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they said  unto him, Thus saith  Hezekiah,  This day  [is] a day  of trouble,  and of rebuke,  and blasphemy:  for the children  are come  to the birth,  and [there is] not strength  to bring forth. 

What does 2 Kings 19:3 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Kings 19:1-13 - Facing The Enemy's Threatenings
That bowed form of Hezekiah before the altar of God, while his servants and elders were conferring with Isaiah, is a beautiful emblem of the true way of meeting trouble. And it is very blessed when our cause is so closely identified with God's that we can appeal to Him to intervene for His own sake, 2 Kings 19:4.
All through this crisis, Isaiah acted the part of a patriot and a saint. His intrepid figure stands out in bold relief amid the storm. He even dared to compose a funeral ode for the burial of this imperious tyrant. In all literature there is nothing more sublime than Isaiah 10:11-14. When bitter and threatening words are flung at us, let us go up to the house of God. See Psalms 73:17. Let us get in touch with some holy soul, of the type of Isaiah, and ask for his prayers on our behalf. The prayer of a righteous man is very effectual. To stand in God's secret place is to be in the calm center of the cyclone. Around us the elements may rage and the people imagine a vain thing; but they shall pass away as the chaff of the threshing-floor, while not a hair of our head shall perish. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Kings 19

1  Hezekiah, in mourning, sends to Isaiah to pray for them
6  Isaiah comforts them
8  Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sends a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah
14  Hezekiah's prayer
20  Isaiah's prophecy of the destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion
35  An angel slays the Assyrians
36  Sennacherib is slain by his own sons

What do the individual words in 2 Kings 19:3 mean?

And they said to him thus says Hezekiah a day of trouble and rebuke and blasphemy day [is] this for have come the sons to birth but strength [there is] no to bring them forth
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ יוֹם־ צָרָ֧ה וְתוֹכֵחָ֛ה וּנְאָצָ֖ה הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֣י בָ֤אוּ בָנִים֙ עַד־ מַשְׁבֵּ֔ר וְכֹ֥חַ אַ֖יִן לְלֵדָֽה

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ  And  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֵלָ֗יו  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
כֹּ֚ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
חִזְקִיָּ֔הוּ  Hezekiah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חִזְקִיָּה 
Sense: 2th king of Judah, son of Ahaz and Abijah; a good king in that he served Jehovah and did away with idolatrous practices.
יוֹם־  a  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
צָרָ֧ה  of  trouble 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָרָה 
Sense: straits, distress, trouble.
וְתוֹכֵחָ֛ה  and  rebuke 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֹּוכֵחָה 
Sense: rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement.
וּנְאָצָ֖ה  and  blasphemy 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: נְאָצָה 
Sense: contempt, contumely.
הַיּ֣וֹם  day  [is] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַזֶּ֑ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
בָ֤אוּ  have  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בָנִים֙  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מַשְׁבֵּ֔ר  birth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַשְׁבֵּר  
Sense: place of breaking forth, place of breach, opening.
וְכֹ֥חַ  but  strength 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כֹּחַ 
Sense: strength, power, might.
אַ֖יִן  [there  is]  no 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
לְלֵדָֽה  to  bring  them  forth 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person feminine singular
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.