Isaiah 26:17

Isaiah 26:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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;
• New King James Version (NKJV)As a woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her pangs, When she draws near the time of her delivery, So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.

Context of Isaiah 26:17

15You have expanded the nation, O Lord. You have expanded the nation. You are honored. You have extended all the land’s boundaries. 16O Lord, the people have come to you in trouble. They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them. O Lord, when we are with you, we are like pregnant women ready to give birth. They writhe and cry out in their labor pains. 18We were pregnant; we writhed with labor pains only to give birth to the wind. We weren’t able to bring salvation to the land, and no new people were born on earth. 19Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. Those who lie dead in the dust will wake up and shout for joy, because your dew is a refreshing dew, and the earth will revive the spirits of the dead.

Isaiah 26:17 word by word

כְּמ֤וֹ הָרָה֙ תַּקְרִ֣יב לָלֶ֔דֶת תָּחִ֥יל תִּזְעַ֖ק בַּחֲבָלֶ֑יהָ כֵּ֛ן הָיִ֥ינוּ מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Likeכְּמוֹkemô kâmô · likeH3644
• as a woman with childהָרָהhâreh hârîy · pregnantH2030
• draweth nearקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
• the time of her deliveryיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• is in painחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
• crieth outזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
• in her pangsחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
• so have we been in thy sightפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Isaiah 26:17

• Isaiah 13:8They’ll be terrified. Pain and anguish will seize them. They’ll writhe like a woman giving birth to a child. They’ll look at one another in astonishment. Their faces will be burning red.
• Isaiah 21:3That is why my body is full of trembling. Pain grips me like the pain of childbirth. I’m disturbed by what I hear. I’m terrified by what I see.
• Psalms 48:6Trembling seized them like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor.
• Jeremiah 4:31I hear a woman in labor. I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child. My people Zion are gasping for breath. They are stretching out their hands, saying, “How horrible it is for us! We’re defenseless in the presence of murderers!”
• Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the news about them. Our hands hang limp. We are gripped by anguish and pain like a woman giving birth to a child.
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see: Can a man give birth to a child? Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain like a woman giving birth to a child? Why has every face turned pale?
• John 16:21A woman has pain when her time to give birth comes. But after the child is born, she doesn’t remember the pain anymore because she’s happy that a child has been brought into the world.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape.

Commentaries on Isaiah 26:17

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Like as a woman with child … - This verse is designed to state their griefs and sorrows during the time of their oppression in Babylon. The comparison used here is one that is very frequent in the sacred writings to represent any great suffering (see Psalm 48:6; Jeremiah 6:24; Jeremiah 13:21; Jeremiah 22:23; Jeremiah 49:24; Jeremiah 50:43; Micah 4:9-10).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-19Verses 12-19 Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came drop by drop; now they pour it out, it comes now like water…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The image of a pregnant woman in childbirth shows the nation's pain when Assyrian King Sennacherib attacked in 701 BC (see Isaiah 37:3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. An image of anguish accompanied with expectation, to be followed by joy that will cause the anguish utterly to be forgotten. Zion, looking for deliverance, seemingly in vain, but really about to be gloriously saved (Mi 4:9, 10-13; 5:1-3; Joh 16:21, 22).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 26:17

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Delivery
• Indignation
• Judgment
• Hezekiah (2)
• Intercession
• Isaiah
• Like; Liken; Likeness; Liking
• Salvation

Commentaries on Isaiah 26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings