Isaiah 21:3

“Therefore are my loins filled with pain, &c.] As a woman at the time of childbirth, as the following words show: these words are spoken by the prophet, not with respect to himself, as if he was pained at heart at the prophecy and vision he had of the ruin of Babylon, since that was a mortal enemy of his people; and besides, their sighing being made to cease could never be a reason of distress in him, but of joy: these words are spoken by him in the person of the Babylonians, and particularly of Belshazzar their king: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth; which come suddenly and at once, are very sharp and strong, and inevitable, which cannot be escaped; so…”

“Isaiah imagines himself among the exiles in Babylon and cannot help feeling moved by the calamities which come on it. So for Moab (Isa 15:5; Isa 16:11). pain--(Compare Isa 13:8; Eze 30:4, Eze 30:19; Nah 2:10). at the hearing--The Hebrew may mean, "I was so bowed down that I could not hear; I was so dismayed that I could not see" (Gen 16:2; Psa 69:23) [MAURER].”

“Therefore - In this verse, and the following, the prophet represents himself as “in” Babylon, and as a witness of the calamities which would come upon the city. He describes the sympathy which he feels in her sorrows, and represents himself as deeply affected by her calamities. A similar description occurred in the pain which the prophet represents himself as enduring on account of the calamities of Moab (see Isaiah 15:5, note; Isaiah 16:11, note). My loins - (see the note at Isaiah 16:11). With pain - The word used here (חלחלה chalchâlâh) denotes properly the pains of parturition, and the whole figure is taken from that. The sense is, that the prophet was filled with the most acute sorrow…”

“My loins - Which he mentions with respect to the following similitude of child - bearing. Pangs - Sharp and grievous pains. Isaiah 21:4”

“21:3 I grow faint . . . I am too afraid: Through his vision, Isaiah experienced the terror of the Babylonian people (see also Dan 8:27; 10:16-17).”

“are: Isa 15:5, Isa 16:9, Isa 16:11; Hab 3:16 pangs have: Isa 13:8, Isa 26:17; Psa 48:6; Jer 48:41, Jer 49:22, Jer 50:43; Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10; Th1 5:3 I was bowed: Deu 28:67; Dan 5:5, Dan 5:6 Isaiah 21:4”

“Here again, as in the case of the prophecy concerning Moab, what the prophet has given to him to see does not pass without exciting his feelings of humanity, but works upon him like a horrible dream. "Therefore are my loins full of cramp: pangs have taken hold of me, as the pangs of a travailing woman: I twist myself, so that I do not hear; I am brought down with fear, so that I do not see. My heart beats wildly; horror hath troubled me: the darkness of night that I love, he hath turned for me into quaking." The prophet does not describe in detail what he saw; but the violent agitation produced by the impression leads us to conclude how horrible it must have been. Chalchâlâh is the…”