Isaiah 26:18

Isaiah 26:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
• New Living Translation (NLT)We, too, writhe in agony, but nothing comes of our suffering. We have not given salvation to the earth, nor brought life into the world.

Context of Isaiah 26:18

16Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer. 17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord. We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life. 19But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise— let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy— your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. 20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.

Isaiah 26:18 word by word

הָרִ֣ינוּ חַ֔לְנוּ כְּמ֖וֹ יָלַ֣דְנוּ ר֑וּחַ יְשׁוּעֹת֙ בַּל־נַ֣עֲשֶׂה אֶ֔רֶץ וּבַֽל־יִפְּל֖וּ יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• We have been with childהָרָהhârâh · to conceiveH2029
• we have been in painחוּלchûl chîyl · to twist: writh in painH2342
• we have as it wereכְּמוֹkemô kâmô · likeH3644
• brought forthיָלַדyâlad · to begetH3205
• windרוּחַrûach · spirit: breathH7307
• we have not wroughtעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• any deliveranceיְשׁוּעָהyeshû‛âh · salvationH3444
• in the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• neitherבַּלbal · notH1077
• have the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of the worldתֵּבֵלtêbêl · worldH8398
• fallenנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307

Cross-references for Isaiah 26:18

• Isaiah 37:3They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
• 2 Kings 19:3They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
• Hosea 13:13Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, but he is a child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he doesn’t have the sense to come out of the womb.
• Exodus 5:22Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?
• Joshua 7:7And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
• 1 Samuel 11:13But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today, for this day the Lord has rescued Israel.”
• 1 Samuel 14:45But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
• Psalms 17:14By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
• John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil.
• 1 John 5:19We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Commentaries on Isaiah 26:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18We have - brought forth wind - The learned Professor Michaelis explains this image in the following manner: "Rariorem morbum describi, empneumatosin, aut ventosam molam, dictum; quo quae laborant diu et sibi et peritis medicis gravidae videntur,tandemque post omnes verae graviditatis molestias et labored ventum ex utero emittunt: quem morbum passim describunt medici. "Syntagma Comment., vol. ii., p. 165. The empneumatosis, or windy inflation of the womb…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18We have been … - This refers to sorrows and calamities which they had experienced in former times, when they had made great efforts for deliverance, and when those efforts had proved abortive. Perhaps it refers to the efforts of this kind which they had made during their painful captivity of seventy years. There is no direct proof indeed, that during that time they attempted to revolt, or that they organized themselves for resistance to the Babylonian…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. 18Only God can give salvation and bring life (see Isaiah 59:9–15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. brought forth wind--Michaelis explains this of the disease empneumatosis. Rather, "wind" is a figure for that which proves an abortive effort. The "we" is in antithesis to "Thy," "my" (Is 26:19), what we vainly attempt, God will accomplish. not wrought ... deliverance in ... earth--literally, "the land (Judea) is not made security," that is, is not become a place of security from our enemies. neither ... world fallen--The "world" at large, is in…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 26:18

• Character
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Delivery
• Indignation
• Judgment
• Intercession
• Isaiah
• Pain
• 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