Isaiah 26:16-18

New Living Translation

¹⁶ Lord, in distress we searched for you.
    We prayed beneath the burden of your discipline.
¹⁷ Just as a pregnant woman
    writhes and cries out in pain as she gives birth,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
¹⁸ We, too, writhe in agony,
    but nothing comes of our suffering.
We have not given salvation to the earth,
    nor brought life into the world.