Isaiah 26:17
in Isaiah 26As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so we have been before thee, O Jehovah.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 26
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Like 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 Psa 48:6; Jer 6:24; Jer 13:21; Jer 22:23; Jer 49:24; Jer 50:43; Mic 4:9-10).
This site's exposition
they poured out a quiet prayer
on Isaiah 26:16-18
Verse 16 says of Judah in distress, "they sought You", and "they poured out a quiet prayer". Verse 17 likens their pain to "a woman with child". Verse 18 admits the labor failed, "we gave birth to wind", and "We have given no salvation to the earth".
This site's exposition
As a woman with child about to give birth
Birth pain is a frequent picture of anguish in Scripture, and Barnes reads it here as the grief of Judah under Babylon. Henry adds that the pain sharpened their prayers into cries. They rose in the sight of God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 17,18.) Just as she who conceives, when she approaches childbirth, cries out in her pain: so have we become because of your presence, Lord. We have conceived and, as it were, given birth, and brought forth the spirit. LXX: And as a woman in labor draws near to childbirth, in her pain she cries out: so have we become ÷ your beloved, because of your fear, Lord. In the womb we have received, and as if giving birth, we have brought forth the spirit of your salvation, which we have made upon the earth.
The Medieval Church1 voice
616. As a woman with child. Here he demonstrates the same thing from the experience among the Jews. And first, he sets out the scourge of tribulation: as a woman with child: a woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow (John 16:21); there were …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Their prayers were quickened by the acuteness of their pains, and became as strong and vehement as the cries of a woman in sore travail. So have we been in thy sight, O Lord! It was a comfort and satisfaction to them, in their distress, that God had his eye upon them, that all their miseries were in his sight; he was no stranger to their pangs or their prayers.
Like as a woman with child,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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 (Mic 4:9, 10-13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּמ֤וֹ | kemo | like | H3644 → | 143 times |
| הָרָה֙ | harah | a pregnant [woman] | H2030 → | |
| תַּקְרִ֣יב | takriv | [who] she brings near | H7126 → | 280 times |
| לָלֶ֔דֶת | laledet | to give birth | H3205 → | 496 times |
| תָּחִ֥יל | tachil | she is in labor | H2342 → | 58 times |
| תִּזְעַ֖ק | tizak | she cries out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| בַּחֲבָלֶ֑יהָ | bachavaleiha | in labor-pains her | H2256 → | 62 times |
| כֵּ֛ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הָיִ֥ינוּ | hayinu | we were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ | mipaneikha | <from> because of you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כְּמ֤וֹlike
kemoH3644 →143 times
הָרָה֙a pregnant [woman]
harahH2030 →
תַּקְרִ֣יב[who] she brings near
takrivH7126 →280 times
לָלֶ֔דֶתto give birth
laledetH3205 →496 times
תָּחִ֥ילshe is in labor
tachilH2342 →58 times
תִּזְעַ֖קshe cries out
tizakH2199 →73 times
בַּחֲבָלֶ֑יהָin labor-pains her
bachavaleihaH2256 →62 times
כֵּ֛ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
הָיִ֥ינוּwe were
hayinuH1961 →3559 times
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ<from> because of you
mipaneikhaH6440 →2123 times
יְהוָֽה׃O Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
it leads to
- Luke 21:34–35
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Matthew 24:37–39
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:26–30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Revelation 18:7–8
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
- Psalms 73:18–20
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Luke 21:34–35
Through
John 16:21A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the…
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3
While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 13:8
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 113:9
He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.