16 Lord, they sought You (A)in distress;
They [a]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 (B)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We (C)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were (D)inhabitants of the world [b]born.
19 Your (E)dead will live;
[c]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, (F)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the [d]dawn,
And the earth will [e]give birth to the [f]departed spirits.

20 Come, my people, (G)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little [g](H)while
Until (I)indignation [h]runs its course.
21 For behold, the Lord is about to (J)come out from His place
To (K)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will (L)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
  2. Isaiah 26:18 Lit fallen
  3. Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; MT My
  4. Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
  5. Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
  6. Isaiah 26:19 Or shades
  7. Isaiah 26:20 Lit moment
  8. Isaiah 26:20 Lit passes over

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)

20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors(L) behind you;
hide(M) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath(N) has passed by.(O)
21 See, the Lord is coming(P) out of his dwelling(Q)
    to punish(R) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(S) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

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Footnotes

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

16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

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