Isaiah 26:16-19
English Standard Version
16 O Lord, (A)in distress they sought you;
they poured out a whispered prayer
when your discipline was upon them.
17 (B)Like a pregnant woman
who writhes and cries out in her pangs
when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
18 (C)we were pregnant, we writhed,
but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 (D)Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For (E)your dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
Isaiah 26:16-19
New American Standard Bible
16 Lord, they sought You (A)in distress;
They [a]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 (B)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We (C)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were (D)inhabitants of the world [b]born.
19 Your (E)dead will live;
[c]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, (F)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the [d]dawn,
And the earth will [e]give birth to the [f]departed spirits.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
- Isaiah 26:18 Lit fallen
- Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; MT My
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
- Isaiah 26:19 Or shades
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
