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.
Parallel translations
- 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 in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
- 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.
- NKJV We have been with child, we have been in pain; We have, as it were, brought forth wind; We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, Nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
- NASB We were pregnant, we writhed in labor, We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind. We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth, Nor were inhabitants of the world born.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their painful efforts produced nothing—only 'wind'—because they could not save themselves or the world.
Overview
Continuing the labor image, the people confess that all their travail brought no deliverance; they gave birth merely to wind. Human effort, however strenuous, cannot accomplish salvation or overcome the world's evil. This humbling admission prepares the way for God alone to act, ultimately fulfilled in the salvation accomplished by Christ rather than by human works.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 17:14from 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.
- Hos 13:13Labor 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.
- 2 Kgs 19:3to 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.
- Isa 37:3to 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.
- Isa 59:4No 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.
- Isa 33:11You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.
- John 7:7The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- 1 Sam 11:13But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”
- 1 Jn 5:19We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Josh 7:7–9“O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
- Exod 5:22–23So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?
- 1 Sam 14:45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 26:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.