Isaiah 26 · Verse 18

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.
Isaiah 26:18, King James Version

Isaiah 26:18 in other translations

BSBWe 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.
WEBWe 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.
ASVWe 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.
YLTWe have conceived, we have been pained. We have brought forth as it were wind, Salvation we do not work in the earth, Nor do the inhabitants of the world fall.
DARBYWe 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.
BBEWe have been with child, we have been in pain, we have given birth to wind; no salvation has come to the earth through us, and no children have come into the world.
WebsterWe have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance on the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

What does Isaiah 26:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
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" (Is 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 of the world (Israel, Is 24:4; not the world in general) are not yet born"; that is, the country as yet lies desolate, and is not yet populated.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 We have - brought forth wind - The learned Professor Michaelis explains this image in the following manner: "Rariorem morbum describi, empneumatosin, aut ventosam molam, dictum; quo quae laborant diu et sibi et peritis medicis gravidae videntur,tandemque post omnes verae graviditatis molestias et labored ventum ex utero emittunt: quem morbum passim describunt medici. "Syntagma Comment., vol. ii., p. 165. The empneumatosis, or windy inflation of the womb, is a disorder to which females are liable. Some have had this in such wise, for a long time together, that they have appeared to themselves, and even to very skillful medical men, to be pregnant; and after having endured much pain, and even the throes of apparent childbearing, they have been eased and restored to health by the emission of a great quantity of wind from the uterus. This disorder is well known to medical men. "The Syriac translator seems to have understood it in this manner: Enixi sumus, ut illae quae ventos pariunt. "We have brought forth as they who bring forth wind." In the earth "In the land" - בארץ bearets; so a MS., the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 26:12-19

Every creature, every business, any way serviceable to our comfort, God makes to be so; he makes that work for us which seemed to make against us. They had been slaves of sin and Satan; but by the Divine grace they were taught to look to be set free from all former masters. The cause opposed to God and his kingdom will sink at last. See our need of afflictions. Before, prayer came drop by drop; now they pour it out…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 26:12-19 →

Isaiah 26:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הָרִ֣ינוּha.Ri.nuwe were pregnantH2029
חַ֔לְנוּChal.nuwe were in laborH2342
כְּמ֖וֹke.MolikeH3644
יָלַ֣דְנוּya.Lad.nuwe gave birth toH3205
ר֑וּחַRu.achwindH7307
יְשׁוּעֹת֙ye.shu.'Otdeliverance<s>H3444
בַּל\־bal-notH1077
נַ֣עֲשֶׂהNa.'a.sehwe accomplishH6213
אֶ֔רֶץ'E.retz[the] earthH776
וּבַֽל\־u.val-and notH1077
יִפְּל֖וּyi.pe.Luthey fallH5307
יֹשְׁבֵ֥יyo.she.Vei[the] inhabitants ofH3427
תֵבֵֽל\׃te.Vel[the] worldH8398

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 26:18

  • 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 of children.

  • 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 treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

  • 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 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 birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

  • 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 birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

  • Isaiah 33:11

    Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.

  • 1 Samuel 11:13

    And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel.

  • 1 John 5:19

    And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

  • John 7:7

    The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

  • 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? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

  • 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, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?

  • 1 Samuel 14:45

    And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
we have been in.
37:3; 2Ki 19:3; Ho 13:13
we have not.
Ex 5:22,23; Jos 7:7-9; 1Sa 11:13; 14:45
the inhabitants.
Ps 17:14; Joh 7:7; 1Jo 5:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 26:17

    Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

  • 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.

  • Isaiah 26:19

    Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Read all of Isaiah 26

Isaiah 26:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Concebimos, tuvimos dolores de parto, parimos como viento: salud ninguna hicimos en la tierra, ni cayeron los moradores del mundo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		nous avons conçu, nous avons été dans les douleurs, nous avons comme enfanté du vent; nous n’avons pas opéré le salut du pays, et les habitants du monde ne sont pas tombés…
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wir gingen schwanger, wir wanden uns; es war, als ob wir Wind geboren hätten: Rettung verschafften wir dem Lande nicht, und die Bewohner des Erdkreises sind nicht gefallen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Concepimus, et quasi parturivimus, et peperimus spiritum. Salutes non fecimus in terra; ideo non ceciderunt habitatores terræ.