Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Message"Just ask yourselves—can a man give birth? Then why do I see every warrior clutching his sides like a woman in labor? Why has every face turned deathly pale?"
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.G"Ask now, and see—can a male give birth? Why then do I see every strong man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labour? Why has every face gone pale as death?"
KJV
King James VersionAsk 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?
BSB
Berean Standard BibleAsk now, and see: Can a male 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?
Footnotes
The image of men in labour (*chavalah*, חֲבָלָה) appears across the prophets to describe existential catastrophe (Isa. 13:8; Mic. 4:9). It inverts the natural order: the *gever* — the virile, capable man — becomes helpless as a labouring woman, his hands on his *chalatsa'im* (loins/hips). The physical reversal is the point: the coming distress exceeds every masculine capacity to endure by strength alone. FOG uses 'strong man' to render *gever*; FOG Message uses 'warrior' to emphasise the military collapse implied.