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 made the nation larger, O Lord, you have made the nation larger and revealed your splendor, you have extended all the borders of the land. 16O Lord, in distress they looked for you; they uttered incantations because of your discipline. As when a pregnant woman gets ready to deliver and strains and cries out because of her labor pains, so were we because of you, O Lord. 18We were pregnant, we strained, we gave birth, as it were, to wind. We cannot produce deliverance on the earth; people to populate the world are not born. 19Your dead will come back to life; your corpses will rise up. Wake up and shout joyfully, you who live in the ground! For you will grow like plants drenched with the morning dew, and the earth will bring forth its dead spirits.

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 panic – cramps and pain seize hold of them like those of a woman who is straining to give birth. They look at one another in astonishment; their faces are flushed red.
• Isaiah 21:3For this reason my stomach churns; cramps overwhelm me like the contractions of a woman in labor. I am disturbed by what I hear, horrified by what I see.
• Psalms 48:6Look at them shake uncontrollably, like a woman writhing in childbirth.
• Jeremiah 4:31In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, “I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”
• Jeremiah 6:24The people cry out, “We have heard reports about them! We have become helpless with fear! Anguish grips us, agony like that of a woman giving birth to a baby!
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby? Why then do I see all these strong men grabbing their stomachs in pain like a woman giving birth? And why do their faces turn so deathly pale?
• John 16:21When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely 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