Just as a woman with child, in the ninth month, when the time of her delivery draws near, has great pains about her womb for two or three hours beforehand, and when the child comes forth from the womb, there will not be a moment’s delay: This verse begins a long sentence that finishes in the next one. Here the text says a pregnant woman cannot delay the birth of her child when the child starts coming from her womb. According to the next verse, the coming disasters are like a baby about to be born. They will cause pain and cannot be delayed. In many languages it will be helpful to break verses 38-39 into several sentences (so Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version). A woman with child may be rendered “a pregnant woman.” Good News Bible provides a helpful model for this verse, and so does Contemporary English Version, which says:

• A woman about to give birth suffers pain for two or three hours before her baby is born, but when the right time comes, she cannot stop it.

Another possible model is:

• A woman in the ninth month of pregnancy may suffer labor pains for two or three hours, but when the time comes for the baby to be born, she cannot stop it.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Esdras. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.