Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 37:3

"And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth." — Isaiah 37:3 (ASV)

The children are come to the birth.—The text's bold language is used where we would now employ an adjective, one whose meaning we have partly forgotten. The situation had reached such a point that all plans and strategies were literally abortive. (Compare Isaiah 26:17-18 and Hosea 13:13 for a similar simile.)