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 increased the nation, O Lord, You have increased the nation, You are glorified; You have extended all the borders of the land. 16O Lord, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your chastening was upon them. As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth, She writhes and cries out in her labor pains, Thus were we before You, O Lord. 18We were pregnant, we writhed in labor, We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor were inhabitants of the world born. 19Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Isaiah 26:17 word by word

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

• As the pregnantהָרָהhâreh hârîy · pregnantH2030
• womanהָרָהhâreh hârîy · pregnantH2030
• approachesקָרַבqârab · to present: comeH7126
• to giveיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• She writhesחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
• criesזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
• out in her laborחֵ֫בֶלchebel chêbel · painH2256
• Thusכֵּןkên · soH3651
• were we beforeמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480
• were we beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• You, O Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Isaiah 26:17

• Isaiah 13:8They will be terrified, Pains and anguish will take hold of them; They will writhe like a woman in labor, They will look at one another in astonishment, Their faces aflame.
• Isaiah 21:3For this reason my loins are full of anguish; Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor. I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
• Psalms 48:6Panic seized them there, Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth.
• Jeremiah 4:31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child, The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath, Stretching out her hands, saying, “Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”
• Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?
• John 16:21Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not 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