Isaiah 26:18

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
child	הָרִ֣ינוּ ha.Ri.nu	H2029	to be (or become) pregnant · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
pain	חַ֔לְנוּ Chal.nu	H2342	properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
were	כְּמ֖וֹ ke.Mo	H3644	a form of the prefix 'k-' · preposition
forth	יָלַ֣דְנוּ ya.Lad.nu	H3205	to bear young · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common plural
wind	ר֑וּחַ Ru.ach	H7307	wind · noun, common feminine singular absolute
wrought	נַ֣עֲשֶׂה Na.'a.seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
deliverance	יְשׁוּעֹת֙ ye.shu.'Ot	H3444	something saved · noun, common feminine plural absolute
earth	אֶ֔רֶץ 'E.retz	H776	the earth (at large · noun, common feminine singular absolute
neither	בַּל bal-	H1077	properly · negative particle
inhabitants	יֹשְׁבֵ֥י yo.she.Vei	H3427	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
world	תֵבֵֽל te.Vel	H8398	the earth (as moist and therefore inhabited) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
fallen	יִפְּל֖וּ yi.pe.Lu	H5307	to fall · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Psalms 17:14 From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid…
Hosea 13:13 The sorrows of a travailing woman shall come upon him: he is an unwise son; for he should not stay long in the place of the breaking forth o…
2 Kings 19:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy: for the children are come to the bi…
Isaiah 37:3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the…
Isaiah 59:4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity…
Isaiah 33:11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
Exodus 5:22-23 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
Joshua 7:7-9 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26:12-19

The prophet in these verses looks back upon what God had done with them, both in mercy and judgment, and sings unto God of both, and then looks forward upon what he hoped God would do for them. Observe, I. His reviews and reflections are mixed. When he looks back upon the state of the church he finds, 1. That God had in many instances been very gracious to them and had done great things for them. (1.) In general (Isa 26:12): Thou hast wrought all our works in us, or for us. Whatever good work is done by us, it is owing to a good work wrought by the grace of God in us; it is he that puts good thoughts and affections into our hearts if at any time they be there, and that works in us both to wi…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 26:18

brought forth wind--MICHAELIS explains this of the disease empneumatosis. Rather, "wind" is a figure for that which proves an abortive effort. The "we" is in antithesis to "Thy," "my" (Isa 26:19), what we vainly attempt, God will accomplish. not wrought . . . deliverance in . . . earth--literally, "the land (Judea) is not made security," that is, is not become a place of security from our enemies. neither . . . world fallen--The "world" at large, is in antithesis to "the earth," that is, Judea. The world at enmity with the city of God has not been subdued. But MAURER explains "fallen," according to Arabic idiom, of the birth of a child, which is said to fall when being born; "inhabitants…

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John Gill on Isaiah 26:18

We have been with child,.... Like women with child; we have been full of hopes and expectations of great things, of deliverance from our enemies, and of the kingdom of Christ being at hand: we have been in pain; in great distress and anxiety, and in fervent and frequent prayer, travailing in birth, which we looked upon as forerunners of a happy issue of things: we have as it were brought forth wind; all our hopes have proved abortive, and we have been disappointed in our expectations: we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth: or, "salvations" have "not been wrought in the earth" (f); this explains what is meant by bringing forth wind; salvation and deliverance out of the hand of t…

The Church Fathers

Their cows did not miscarry, therefore, but gave birth, so that their labor would be increased and that they would beget everything they conceived without reverence for God. The righteous, however, take delight in an altogether different way. They glory not in the abundance of their wealth or the fruitfulness of their livestock but in the Lord, saying, "We were impregnated with reverence for you, and we brought forth the spirit of salvation."
— Ambrose of Milan, Interrogation of Job and David 2.4.15

The souls of believers are pregnant, who at the beginning of faith can say: "We have conceived and given birth from your fear, O Lord"; and if they are not equipped with iron and toothed wagons (of which the Psalmist says: "The teeth of men are their weapons and arrows"), cut and ironed, they can also say what follows: "We have given birth, we will bring forth the spirit of your salvation upon the earth."
— Jerome, Commentary on Amos

Nature provides woman with a womb in which a living person is brought to birth in the course of time. Such too is that characteristic of the soul which is ready to receive in its womblike recesses the seeds of our thoughts, to cherish them and to bring them forth as a woman gives birth to a child. This and no other is the meaning of the words of Isaiah: "We have conceived and brought forth the spirit of salvation."
— Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel 1.10.47

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Wind, The · Illustrative: (Bringing forth,) of disappointed expectations — Illustrative: (Bringing forth,) of disappointed expectations

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Isaiah 26:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26:12-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 26:18

John Gill on Isaiah 26:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Isaiah 26:18

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Isaiah 26:12-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Isaiah 26:18

John Gill on Isaiah 26:18

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Isaiah 26:18

Keil & Delitzsch on Isaiah 26:16-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Isaiah 26:18

Rashi on Isaiah 26:18