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.

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