Isaiah 26:16-18

International Standard Version

¹⁶ Lord, they^[a] came to you in distress;
    they poured out their secret^[b] prayer
        when your chastenings were^[c] afflicting^[d] them.
¹⁷ Just as a pregnant woman writhes
    and cries out during her labor
when she is about to give birth,
    so were we because of you, Lord.
¹⁸ We were pregnant, writhing in pain,
    but we gave birth only to wind.
We have not won your^[e] victory on earth,
nor have the inhabitants of the world been born.”