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16 O Yahweh, they visited You (A)in distress;
They [a]could only whisper a prayer;
Your chastening was upon them.
17 (B)As the [b]woman with child draws near to the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her pangs of labor,
Thus were we before You, O Yahweh.
18 We were [c]with child, we writhed in labor;
We (C)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,
And the (D)inhabitants of the world [d]were not born.
19 Your (E)dead will live;
[e]Their corpses will rise.
You who dwell in the dust, (F)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the [f]dawn,
And the earth will [g]give birth to the [h]departed spirits.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
  2. Isaiah 26:17 Or pregnant woman
  3. Isaiah 26:18 Or pregnant
  4. Isaiah 26:18 Lit had never fallen
  5. Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; Heb My
  6. Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
  7. Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
  8. Isaiah 26:19 Or shades

16 O Lord, they appealed to you in distress.
They whispered a prayer as you disciplined them.
17 Just as a pregnant woman nearing the time of her delivery
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
so we have done before you, O Lord.
18 We have been in pain
    as if we were about to give birth to a child,
but we gave birth only to wind.
We have not brought salvation for the earth.
We have not given birth to people who can inhabit the world.[a]
19 But your dead ones will live.
Their[b] dead bodies will rise.
Wake up and sing for joy,
you who dwell in the dust,
because your dew will glisten like morning light,
and the earth will give up the spirits of the dead.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:18 The meaning of this line is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 26:19 The Hebrew reads my dead body, but the verb is plural.
  3. Isaiah 26:19 The last lines of the verse are difficult.