Isaiah 13:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

When the sovereign Lord instills fear within the hearts of men, who can bestow bravery, or who possesses the fortitude to stand firm? The envoys will be filled with dread, as He declares, and they will experience anguish, akin to women in labor. They will lament to one another, filled with dread and dismay, their faces transforming as if engulfed in flames. The term "envoys" likely refers to the priests of idols, renowned in Babylon for their magical arts, servants of dark forces. In this anticipated time of invasion, with the coming of the Midianites alongside Cyrus and the Persians, they were predicting a victorious outcome and beseeching aid from these demons, conducting rituals and offering filthy sacrifices, promising to intercede for the entirety of the nation. Thus, these ministers and worshippers of evil, intent on securing favor for all, upon witnessing their plans take an unforeseen turn, will be gripped by fear and will suffer greatly, expressing their anguish to one another with cries of mourning. Their faces will change, reflecting their terror; for often, the countenance of those who lose heart darkens, resembling nothing more than ash or the remnants of extinguished embers.

Thus, the Saviour can indeed be recognized as one of noble lineage. The Lord is understood to possess this noble birth not only through His divine nature, which embodies purity, simplicity, and truth, but also through His humanity, being of the lineage of David according to the flesh.

He journeys to a distant territory, not merely as a physical place but as a state of existence. God is indeed close to each one of us when our good deeds align us with Him, yet He seems far when we turn away and embrace destruction. This righteous Man, observing the pervasive reign of sin and the torment suffered by the world at the hands of the adversary, took pity on our ignorance and consented to rule over us. It is fitting for Him to reign until every foe is subdued (1 Corinthians 15:25). Thus, when He arrived at this earthly realm, to establish His kingdom among the Gentiles, in accordance with the words of the Psalm, “Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance” (Psalm 2:8), those under the authority of the ruler of this age—both the people and the forces aligned against Him—rejected His dominion. In response to His commands, which instructed them to be industrious and not idle, they dispatched envoys to deny Him as their King. Who were these ambassadors if not those responsible for the death of the Saviour, who believed they could extinguish His reign through the cross? They implored Pilate, “Do not write, ‘King of the Jews,’ but rather say, ‘He said, I am King of the Jews’” (John 19:21). However, although they sought to deceive and condemn, they did not obstruct the construction of His Kingdom.

Having taken possession of authority and bestowed responsibilities upon His servants according to their capabilities, He commanded them to present an account of their stewardship. To the first servant, who had earned ten minas, He granted authority over ten cities; to the second, who had gained five minas, He said, “You also be over five cities.” But to the servant who buried his mina, doing nothing with it, He ordered that it be taken away (cf. Luke 19:15-20, 24). When He issued judgments regarding the Jewish people, reminding that judgment must start at the household of God (1 Pet. 4:17), He directed that the enemies who rejected His kingship be brought forth and brought to an end (cf. Lk. 19:27). It is certain that many in this life resist the reign of Christ. Those ensnared by immorality, individuals overtaken by wrath, and those bound by greed often oppose His authority, and as long as it is within their power, they reject His dominion. Isaiah foretells their shame; at the Second Coming, those who have lived in sin and disregarded the commandments of the Kingdom will be bewildered upon seeing the Lord, experiencing anguish akin to the pains of childbirth. The prophet vividly depicted the anguish they will endure, mirroring the agonies of childbirth felt by those in labor. They will change their countenance as if ignited by fire. Such external transformations are characteristic of those overwhelmed by sudden calamity, visibly revealing the turmoil of their souls through changes in their appearance.

The ruin that has been termed desolation will come from the Lord, as previously mentioned regarding the warriors. When the day of judgment arrives, the strength of all those will diminish, to whom it was said elsewhere, “strengthen the hands of those who are weak.” The hands will weaken because no deed will be found worthy of God's righteousness: “and whosoever liveth shall not be justified before Him” (Psalms 142:2). Thus the prophet in the Psalms declares, “If iniquity be called iniquity, O Lord, who will stand?” (Psalms 129:3). Every heart or soul of man will groan in anguish at the awareness of sin. This dreadful day, of which Zephaniah speaks: “Fear the face of the Lord, for the day of the Lord is near” (Zeph. 1:7), and again: “the great day of the Lord is near, near and overwhelming” (Zeph. 1:14). Likewise, Amos proclaims, “Alas for those who long for the day of the Lord; what will it mean for you? This day is darkness, and not light” (Am. 5:18). The Septuagint adds, “The messengers shall be distressed, and anguish shall seize them,” referring perhaps to those envoys sent by the citizens to resist the one who went far away to seek a kingdom for himself. Hence, He Himself states in the Gospel, “But those mine enemies, who would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me” (Luke 19:27). They will experience convulsions and agony, akin to the labor pains of a woman; each will gaze in astonishment at their companions, their faces burned with affliction. When the armies of the Lord arrive from afar, and all powers are made weak, with hearts filled with fright and despair, then there shall be a wrenching in their stomachs – indicated here as convulsions – and anguish will beset them, resembling the pains of a woman in childbirth. This illustrates how they are tormented by their own conscience, their faces scorched by the very fire kindled within them; for they cannot claim, “the light of Your face is upon us, O Lord” (Psalms 4:7), nor are they able to say, “we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Each will take note of his neighbor, witnessing the same torment that afflicts him.

Consequently, all hands shall fall slack, and every man’s heart will grow cold and break. Suffering and anguish will grip them, and they will be tormented; each will look with astonishment at their neighbor, their faces marked by despair. This is clear enough: the forthcoming tribulations are of such intensity that the strength of the Babylonian soldiers will diminish, their hearts weighed down by fear, and deep pain will afflict them, similar to the pains of childbirth. Each will, with wearied and pale countenance, seek assistance from another, for it is human nature to regard others as possessing greater wisdom in times of impending disaster.