Isaiah 26:16-18

Contemporary English Version

¹⁶ When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
    to you, our Lord.^[a]
17 Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
    about to give birth.
¹⁸ But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
    produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
    to take over the earth.