The Meaning of Isaiah 21:3 Explained

Isaiah 21:3

KJV: Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it.

YLT: Therefore filled have been my loins with great pain, Pangs have seized me as pangs of a travailing woman, I have been bent down by hearing, I have been troubled by seeing.

Darby: Therefore are my loins filled with pain; anguish hath taken hold upon me, as the anguish of a woman in travail: I am bowed down so as not to hear, I am dismayed so as not to see.

ASV: Therefore are my loins filled with anguish; pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman in travail: I am pained so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore are my loins  filled  with pain:  pangs  have taken hold  upon me, as the pangs  of a woman that travaileth:  I was bowed down  at the hearing  [of it]; I was dismayed  at the seeing  [of it]. 

What does Isaiah 21:3 Mean?

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 21

1  The prophet, bewailing the captivity of his people,
6  sees in a vision the fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians
11  Edom, scorning the prophet, is moved to repentance
13  The set time of Arabia's calamity

What do the individual words in Isaiah 21:3 mean?

On therefore are filled with my loins pain Pangs have taken hold of me like the pangs of a woman in labor I was distressed when [I] heard [it] I was dismayed when [I] saw [it]
עַל־ כֵּ֗ן מָלְא֤וּ מָתְנַי֙ חַלְחָלָ֔ה צִירִ֣ים אֲחָז֔וּנִי כְּצִירֵ֖י יֽוֹלֵדָ֑ה נַעֲוֵ֣יתִי מִשְּׁמֹ֔עַ נִבְהַ֖לְתִּי מֵרְאֽוֹת

מָלְא֤וּ  are  filled  with 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
מָתְנַי֙  my  loins 
Parse: Noun, mdc, first person common singular
Root: מָתְנַיִם  
Sense: loins, hips.
חַלְחָלָ֔ה  pain 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: חַלְחָלָה  
Sense: pain, trembling, terror, writhing, anguish.
צִירִ֣ים  Pangs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: צִיר 
Sense: envoy, messenger.
אֲחָז֔וּנִי  have  taken  hold  of  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural, first person common singular
Root: אָחוּז 
Sense: grasp, take hold, seize, take possession.
כְּצִירֵ֖י  like  the  pangs 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: צִיר 
Sense: envoy, messenger.
יֽוֹלֵדָ֑ה  of  a  woman  in  labor 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
נַעֲוֵ֣יתִי  I  was  distressed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: עָוָה 
Sense: to bend, twist, distort.
מִשְּׁמֹ֔עַ  when  [I]  heard  [it] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
נִבְהַ֖לְתִּי  I  was  dismayed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: בָּהַל  
Sense: to disturb, alarm, terrify, hurry, be disturbed, be anxious, be afraid, be hurried, be nervous.
מֵרְאֽוֹת  when  [I]  saw  [it] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.