14 The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, You have visited 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. Isaiah 26:16 Hb obscure

14 The dead won’t live,
    and[a] the departed spirits won’t rise—
to that end, you punished and destroyed them,
    then locked away[b] all memory of them.

15 “But you have enlarged the nation,[c] Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.[d]
You have gained honor;
    you have extended all the borders of the land.

16 Lord, they[e] came to you in distress;
    they poured out their secret[f] prayer
        when your chastenings were[g] afflicting[h] them.
17 Just as a pregnant woman writhes
    and cries out during her labor
when she is about to give birth,
    so were we because of you, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, writhing in pain,
    but we gave birth only to wind.
We have not won your[i] victory on earth,
nor have the inhabitants of the world been born.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsaa corrector MT lack and
  2. Isaiah 26:14 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read wiped out
  3. Isaiah 26:15 So 1QIsaa 4QIsab
  4. Isaiah 26:15 So 1QIsaa; MTms lacks this line
  5. Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXXmss read we; LXX reads I remembered you
  6. Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT read out a magical
  7. Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read your chastening was
  8. Isaiah 26:16 Lit. upon
  9. Isaiah 26:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks your