Isaiah 26:16-18

New American Standard Bible

¹⁶ Lord, they sought You ^(A)in distress;
They ^[a]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
^17 (B)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
¹⁸ We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We ^(C)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were ^(D)inhabitants of the world ^[b]born.