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.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

20 Come, my people, (F)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (G)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (H)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [d]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

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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
  4. Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed

A Perpetual Covenant of Peace

54 “Sing, O (A)barren,
You who have not borne!
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud,
You who have not labored with child!
For more are the children of the desolate
Than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.

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“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.

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