Isaiah 26:17-18
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This verse vividly portrays suffering not just as pain, but as a painful anticipation. The intense agony of childbirth isn't just about the present distress, but about the imminent, longed-for arrival of new life, which makes the pangs even more profound. The prophet shows us that their suffering was deeply tied to their expectation of God's deliverance, making the waiting itself a source of agony.
Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD; we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet Isaiah describes the intense suffering and painful expectation of God's people, particularly during periods of oppression like the Babylonian exile. This imagery of labor pains immediately precedes a powerful vision of resurrection and restoration, suggesting that this agony is a precursor to new life and deliverance. The verse emphasizes that this suffering is not unnoticed by God, but is experienced "in His sight."
Have you ever felt an intense longing for something, a deep ache for a future hope that feels just out of reach? This verse paints a vivid picture of such a state.
Isaiah uses the powerful imagery of a woman in labor to describe the people's experience. This isn't just any pain; it's the specific, intense, and often vocalized suffering of a pregnant woman nearing childbirth.
The Purpose of the Pain
The people of God, in their period of distress and waiting, mirrored this intense, expectant suffering. They were not simply enduring hardship; they were experiencing the painful, yet purposeful, groans that precede a miraculous deliverance.
When you're in the depths of suffering, does it feel like you're all alone? This verse offers a powerful reassurance about who sees and knows your pain.
The phrase 'in thy sight, O LORD' is crucial. It frames the entire comparison of painful labor not as a private agony, but as an experience witnessed by God Himself.
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The Significance of God's Gaze
This means our deepest struggles, our most anguished cries, are not lost in the void. God sees. He knows the intensity of the pain, and He is intimately aware of the hope that fuels it.
Understand the original words
yeshu'ah · Hebrew Noun
The act of delivering or saving someone from danger, oppression, or ultimate destruction; in a spiritual sense, it refers to God's salvation from sin and its consequences.
This verse, likely penned during the Babylonian Exile, powerfully uses the imagery of a woman in labor to convey the intense suffering and anxious expectation of the Judean people awaiting their deliverance and return.
c. 740 BC
Isaiah's Prophetic Ministry
Isaiah delivers prophecies concerning Judah's future, including warnings of judgment and promises of restoration, during a period of political instability in the ancient Near East.
597 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon deports a significant portion of Judah's population, including Jehoiachin the king and Ezekiel the prophet, to Babylon.
586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Second Deportation
Jerusalem is destroyed by the Babylonians, the Temple is burned, and many more Judeans are exiled, marking the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity.
c. 540 BC— this verse
Deuteronomy-Isaiah Written in Exile
The prophecies within Isaiah, particularly chapters 40-55 (Second Isaiah), are believed by many scholars to have been written during the Babylonian exile, offering comfort and hope for return.
539 BC
Fall of Babylon to Persia
Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon, paving the way for the return of exiled peoples, including the Judeans.
538 BC
Edict of Cyrus and Return of Exiles
Cyrus issues a decree allowing the Judeans to return to their homeland and rebuild their Temple, marking the end of the Babylonian Captivity.
This verse uses a similar metaphor of a woman in labor and pain to describe the anguish and distress of Jerusalem during its downfall and exile.
Hosea 13:13This passage also employs the imagery of a woman in labor to convey intense suffering and the imminence of disaster.
John 16:21Jesus uses the same analogy of a woman's pain during childbirth to explain how sorrow will be followed by joy, offering a New Testament parallel to the hopeful undertone often found in Isaiah's imagery of suffering.
Micah 4:10This verse pictures Zion in labor pains, crying out for deliverance and exile, directly paralleling the intense suffering and expectant anguish described in Isaiah.
cambridgeIsaiah 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."
17 . The agony of the crisis is compared to the pangs of a woman in travail,—a common figure, Hosea 13:13 ; Micah 4:10 , &c. in thy sight ] Or, because of thee —Thy chastening hand.
barnesIsaiah 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."
Like as a woman with child ... - This verse is designed to state their griefs and sorrows during the time of their oppression in Babylon. The comparison used here is one that is very frequent in the sacred writings to represent any great suffering (see Psalm 48:6 ; Jeremiah 6:24 ; Jeremiah 13:21 ; Jeremiah 22:23 ; Jeremiah 49:24 ;…
This verse vividly portrays suffering not just as pain, but as a painful anticipation. The intense agony of childbirth isn't just about the present distress, but about the imminent, longed-for arrival of new life, which makes the pangs even more profound. The prophet shows us that their suffering was deeply tied to their expectation of God's deliverance, making the waiting itself a source of agony.
The prophet Isaiah describes the intense suffering and painful expectation of God's people, particularly during periods of oppression like the Babylonian exile. This imagery of labor pains immediately precedes a powerful vision of resurrection and restoration, suggesting that this agony is a precursor to new life and deliverance. The verse emphasizes that this suffering is not unnoticed by God, but is experienced "in His sight."
The prophet Isaiah describes the intense suffering and painful expectation of God's people, particularly during periods of oppression like the Babylonian exile. This imagery of labor pains immediately precedes a powerful vision of resurrection and restoration, suggesting that this agony is a precursor to new life and deliverance. The verse emphasizes that this suffering is not unnoticed by God, but is experienced "in His sight."
"Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O LORD; we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomp…" — This verse vividly portrays suffering not just as pain, but as a painful anticipation. The intense agony of childbirth isn't just about the present distress, but about the imminent, longed-for arri…
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Last reviewed October 2026
