Isaiah 26:16
in Isaiah 26O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
KJV
Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
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This verse in Isaiah 26
Commentary
8 notes on this verseLord, in trouble have they visited thee “O Jehovah, in affliction we have sought thee” - So the Septuagint and two MSS. have פקדנוך pekadnucha, in the first person plural. And so perhaps it should be צקנו tsaknu, in the first person; but how the Septuagint read this word is not clear; and this last member of the verse is extremely obscure. For למו lamo, “on them,” the Septuagint read לנו lanu, “on us,” in the first person likewise; a frequent mistake; see note on Isa 10:29.
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".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16.) Lord, in distress they sought you, in tribulation they murmured your teaching. LXX: Lord, in tribulation I remembered you, in small tribulation your teaching was to us. For being indulgent, you have often been despised and not glorified; but on the contrary, all have departed from your knowledge; therefore, Lord, strike them, so that in distress they may seek you, and in tribulation may your teaching be to them: when such a weight of affliction rests upon them that they dare not even cry out confidently, but silently devour their sorrow.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, the usefulness of avenging justice: Lord, they have sought after you in distress: in their affliction they will rise early to me (Hos 6:1); in the time of their affliction they will say: arise, and deliver us (Jer 2:27).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In affliction those will seek God early who before sought him slowly, Hos. v. 15 . It will make men fervent and fluent in prayer. "They poured out a prayer, as the drink-offerings were poured out, when thy chastening was upon them." But it is to be feared, when the chastening is off them, they will by degrees return to their former carelessness, as they had often done.
Lord, in trouble have they visited thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
visited--sought. poured out-- (Ps 62:8), as a vessel emptying out all its contents. prayer--literally, "a whispered prayer," Margin, "a secret sighing" to God for help (compare Jer 13:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Poured out a prayer - Margin, ‘Secret speech.’ The Hebrew word לחשׁ lachash means properly a whispering, muttering; and thru a sighing, a calling for help. This is the sense here. In their calamity they sighed, and called on God for help.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בַּצַּ֣ר | batzar | in <the> distress | H6862 → | 109 times |
| פְּקָד֑וּךָ | pekaducha | people sought you | H6485 → | 303 times |
| צָק֣וּן | tzakun | they poured out ! | H6694 → | |
| לַ֔חַשׁ | lachash | a whisper | H3908 → | 5 times |
| מוּסָרְךָ֖ | musarekha | chastening your | H4148 → | |
| לָֽמוֹ׃ | lamo | [was] to them |
יְהוָ֖הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בַּצַּ֣רin <the> distress
batzarH6862 →109 times
פְּקָד֑וּךָpeople sought you
pekaduchaH6485 →303 times
צָק֣וּןthey poured out !
tzakunH6694 →
לַ֔חַשׁa whisper
lachashH3908 →5 times
מוּסָרְךָ֖chastening your
musarekhaH4148 →
לָֽמוֹ׃[was] to them
lamo
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
Psalms 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
it leads to
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Psalms 50:15
Through
Psalms 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 107:28
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 34:3–4
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
- Psalms 107:19
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Psalms 107:28
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.