Isaiah 26:16–21

O Lord, in distress they sought you;

they poured out a whispered prayer

when your discipline was upon them.

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;

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.

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.

You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

For your dew is a dew of light,

and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Come, my people, enter your chambers,

and shut your doors behind you;

hide yourselves for a little while

until the fury has passed by.

For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,

and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,

and will no more cover its slain.

Lord, they came to you in their distress;

when you disciplined them,

they could barely whisper a prayer.

As 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.

But 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.

Go, my people, enter your rooms

and shut the doors behind you;

hide yourselves for a little while

until his wrath has passed by.

See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling

to punish the people of the earth for their sins.

The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;

the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Lord, they went to you in their distress;

they poured out whispered prayers

because your discipline fell on them.

As a pregnant woman about to give birth

writhes and cries out in her pains,

so we were before you, Lord.

We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;

we gave birth to wind.

We have won no victories on earth,

and the earth’s inhabitants have not fallen.

Your dead will live; their bodies will rise.

Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!

For you will be covered with the morning dew,

and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.

Go, my people, enter your rooms

and close your doors behind you.

Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.

For look, the Lord is coming from his place

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.

The earth will reveal the blood shed on it

and will no longer conceal her slain.

Lord, in distress we searched for you.

We prayed beneath the burden of your discipline.

Just as a pregnant woman

writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth,

so were we in your presence, Lord.

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.

But those who die in the Lord will live;

their bodies will rise again!

Those who sleep in the earth

will rise up and sing for joy!

For your life-giving light will fall like dew

on your people in the place of the dead!

Go home, my people,

and lock your doors!

Hide yourselves for a little while

until the Lord’s anger has passed.

Look! The Lord is coming from heaven

to punish the people of the earth for their sins.

The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed.

They will be brought out for all to see.

Yahweh, in distress they have visited you;

they poured out an incantation;

your discipline was on them.

Like a pregnant woman on the point of giving birth, she writhes;

she cries in her labor pains.

So we were because of your presence, Yahweh.

We became pregnant, we writhed;

we gave birth to wind.

We cannot bring about deliverance on the earth,

and no inhabitants of the world are born.

Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.

Wake up and sing for joy, dwellers of the dust,

for your dew is celestial dew,

and the earth will give birth to dead spirits.

Go, my people, enter into your chambers

and shut your doors behind you;

hide for a very little while,

until the wrath has passed over.

For look! Yahweh is about to come out from his place

to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth against him,

and the earth will disclose her blood

and will no longer cover her slain.

Lord, In trouble have they visited thee,

They poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

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.

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.

Thy dead men shall live,

Together with my dead body shall they arise.

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:

For thy dew is as the dew of herbs,

And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,

And shut thy doors about thee:

Hide thyself as it were for a little moment,

Until the indignation be overpast.

For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place

To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:

The earth also shall disclose her blood,

And shall no more cover her slain.