ישעיהו, פרק י״ג, פסוק ח׳

Peace can be shattered in an instant, replacing a false sense of security with paralyzing anxiety and a total loss of control in the face of sudden disaster. The primary approach among commentators is that during such a catastrophe, people completely lose their ability to think clearly. They are left unable to react or defend themselves, struck by absolute shock [מלבי״ם, רד״ק].

To illustrate the sheer intensity of this suffering, the experience is compared to a woman going into labor. The agony arrives in distinct stages, beginning with the physical opening of the womb and followed immediately by severe, blinding pain [רש״י, מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. The torment is so overwhelming that the relationship between the sufferer and the pain is almost reversed. It is as if the people are actively gripping their agony because it has become entirely inseparable from them [שד״ל], though it can also be understood simply that the severe pains grip them tightly [רד״ק]. As a result, they are seized by violent trembling and shuddering in every limb [רש״י, מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם].

This overwhelming shock is not just experienced alone; it is a collective nightmare. People stare at one another in complete astonishment. This shared paralysis stems directly from the suddenness of the disaster [רד״ק]. As they look at each other, frozen in place, the fear of every individual is deeply amplified by witnessing the sheer panic of everyone around them [מלבי״ם]. Another perspective suggests that their astonishment is actually directed outward at the attacking enemy army, whose appearance is bizarre and deeply threatening [רש״י, מצודת דוד].

The climax of this terrifying scene is captured by the image of faces appearing like flames. Focusing on the victims themselves, their faces might flush deep red out of intense shame [רד״ק]. Alternatively, their faces appear physically scorched by the sheer weight of sorrow, pain, and fear, radiating an agony that burns one another like actual fire [אבן עזרא, שד״ל, מלבי״ם]. On the other hand, this fiery imagery might describe the attackers rather than the victims. In this view, it is the faces of the invading enemies that burn with a threatening, fiery rage [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. Finally, some suggest that the reference to flames is not a metaphor for fire at all, but rather the actual name of a specific, fearsome nation participating in the attack [אבן עזרא].