16 Lord, (A)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (B)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [a]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [b]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (C)the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 (D)Your dead shall live;
Together with [c]my dead body they shall arise.
(E)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
  2. Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
  3. Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(A)
    when you disciplined(B) them,
    they could barely whisper(C) a prayer.[a]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(D)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth(E) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(F) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.(G)

19 But your dead(H) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(I)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(J) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.