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 do not live;
    shades do not rise
because you have punished and destroyed them
    and wiped out all memory of them.(A)
15 But you have increased the nation, O Lord;
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    you have enlarged all the borders of the land.(B)

16 O Lord, in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a prayer[a]
    when your chastening was on them.(C)
17 Like a woman with child
    about to give birth
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we because of you, O Lord;(D)
18     we were with child; we writhed,
    but we gave birth only to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
    and no one is born to inhabit the world.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 26.16 Meaning of Heb uncertain