# They said to him

"The men sent by Hezekiah said to Isaiah"

# like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to give birth to her child

This comparison is made to emphasizes that they are in a time of extreme difficulty. Alternate translation: "It is as terrible as the day when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to give birth to her child" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-simile]])