Isaiah 26:16-21

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.
¹⁹ Your ^(E)dead will live;
^[c]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, ^(F)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the ^[d]dawn,
And the earth will ^[e]give birth to the ^[f]departed spirits.

²⁰ Come, my people, ^(G)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little ^[g](H)while
Until ^(I)indignation ^[h]runs its course.
²¹ For behold, the Lord is about to ^(J)come out from His place
To ^(K)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will ^(L)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.