14 The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them;
you have wiped out all memory of them.(A)
15 You have added to the nation, Lord.(B)
You have added to the nation; you are honored.
You have expanded all the borders of the land.(C)
16 Lord, they went to you in their distress;(D)
they poured out whispered prayers
because your discipline fell on them.[a]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,(E)
so we were before you, Lord.
18 We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;
we gave birth to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and the earth’s inhabitants have not fallen.

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Footnotes

  1. 26:16 Hb obscure

14 They are now dead,(A) they live no more;
    their spirits(B) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(C)
    you wiped out all memory of them.(D)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.(E)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders(F) of the land.

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(G)
    when you disciplined(H) them,
    they could barely whisper(I) a prayer.[a]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(J)
    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(K) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(L) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.(M)

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Footnotes

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