Isaiah 26:16-18

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹⁶ O Lord, they appealed to you in distress.
They whispered a prayer as you disciplined them.
¹⁷ Just as a pregnant woman nearing the time of her delivery
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
so we have done before you, O Lord.
¹⁸ We have been in pain
    as if we were about to give birth to a child,
but we gave birth only to wind.
We have not brought salvation for the earth.
We have not given birth to people who can inhabit the world.^[a]