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 Living Translation (NLT)Just as a pregnant woman writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth, so were we in your presence, Lord.

Context of Isaiah 26:17

15You have increased the nation, O Lord, You have increased the nation; You are glorified; You have expanded all the borders of the land. 16Lord, in trouble they have visited You, They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them. 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. 18We 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. 19Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; For your dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out 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 13:8And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
• Isaiah 21:3Therefore my loins are filled with pain; Pangs have taken hold of me, like the pangs of a woman in labor. I was distressed when I heard it; I was dismayed when I saw it.
• Psalms 48:6Fear took hold of them there, And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
• Jeremiah 4:31“For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’
• Jeremiah 6:24We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor.
• Jeremiah 30:6Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?
• John 16:21A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:3For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall 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