1. Isaiah 21:3 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why would Isaiah react in this way if the prophesied events would lead to Judah's salvation?

Isaiah 21:3 (ESV)

3 Therefore my loins are filled with anguish; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am bowed down so that I cannot hear; I am dismayed so that I cannot see.

Although the fall of Babylon would ultimately work toward the salvation of Judah, the things Isaiah witnessed were overwhelmingly upsetting. The fall of Babylon would lead to many casualties. Isaiah also had empathy, not just with his own people but even with the enemy (see Isaiah 15:5; Isaiah 16:9; Isaiah 16:11). The fact that Isaiah recorded his emotional response to us helps us to understand the severity of the vision.