Isaiah 26:18

¹⁶ O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.

¹⁷ As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.

We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.

¹⁹ Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.

²⁰ Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.
KJV: 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.
WEB: We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance on the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
ASV: 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.
DARBY: We have been with child, we have been in travail, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought the deliverance of the land, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
BLB: We were pregnant; we writhed; we gave birth as if [to] the wind; we have not accomplished salvation [on] earth, and those dwelling in the world have not fallen.

ÅB: Vi var fruktsommelige, vi vred oss; men da vi fødte, var det bare vind; frelse gav vi ikke landet, og ingen ble født til å bo på jorden.
OTB: Vi var gravide, vi vred oss i fødsel, men vi fødte vind. Vi kunne ikke oppnå frelse for jorden, og verdens innbyggere ble ikke født.
B1930: Vi var fruktsommelige, vi vred oss; men da vi fødte, var det bare vind; frelse gav vi ikke landet, og ingen blev født til å bo på jorden.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Hosea 13:13
Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son. When the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.
Read in context
Psalms 17:14
from such men, O LORD, by Your hand— from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.
Read in context
Isaiah 59:4
No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
Read in context
Isaiah 37:3
to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
Read in context
2 Kings 19:3
to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.
Read in context
Isaiah 33:11
You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.
Read in context
1 Samuel 11:13
But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”
Read in context
1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
Read in context