The Hebrew prophet Isaiah had many visions. He was a great religious man who was both overcome with the beauty of the holiness of God, and disgusted with the depths of sin and degradation of humans who had turned away from the Lord. Isaiah called the children of God to religious reform and spoke of grim consequences for those who refused to hear the message. In Chapter 13 in the Book of Isaiah, the prophet addresses pagan nations, in particular Babylon. His oracle seems to use the point of view of the Divine at times, but he also uses his own point of view to speak out, warning that, “…the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land” (Isaiah 13:4–5).

Isaiah favored language that compelled people to action. In the next passage, he speaks of pregnant women (those joined together) who are destined to be run through with swords, and who must watch as their children are murdered.

One source asserts that Elisha, a predecessor of Isaiah who prophesied from roughly 892 B.C. to 832 B.C., also foretold a similar event with the same dire fate for expectant mothers. Psalm 137 mentions the dashing “…of thy little ones against the stones…” in an indictment against Babylon. Nahum the Elkoshite, another Old Testament prophet, similarly had a vision of “…young children…dashed in pieces at the top of all the streets” (Nahum 3:10), due to the Lord's wrath and vengeance upon the unfaithful.