^17 (A)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 ^(B)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were ^(C)inhabitants of the world ^[a]born.
¹⁹ Your ^(D)dead will live;
^[b]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, ^(E)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the ^[c]dawn,
And the earth will ^[d]give birth to the ^[e]departed spirits.