The Meaning of Isaiah 26:18 Explained

Isaiah 26:18

KJV: 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.

YLT: We 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.

Darby: We 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.

ASV: 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 26:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 26:11-21 - Chastened By Suffering
When God ordains our peace, a world in arms cannot disturb us. Our peace results from the conviction that God is going before us and preparing our works. But be careful to make mention of His name, that is, to give Him the glory.
Do not be afraid of your enemies. When God brings you back from the ends of the earth, He will free you from their toils and snares. Let us, as Isaiah 26:16 suggests, pour out our prayers, as a vessel its contents; though, as the Hebrew signifies, those prayers are but whispers. It is true that apart from God we work no deliverance in the earth, Isaiah 26:18, but when He speaks, even the dead live. Jesus, the resurrection and the life, speaks in Isaiah 26:19. What comfort results to those that dwell in the dust of self-abasement and despair to look up to the ever-living Christ, from whom streams of life-giving energy come to believing hearts! Arise and sing, thou broken heart: even now the stone is being rolled from the door of thy sepulcher; the morning dew is distilling upon thee. Cast out by earth, thou shalt be welcomed by heaven, and sheltered in God's secret place till the storm-burst has spent itself. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 26

1  Trust in God's Provision

What do the individual words in Isaiah 26:18 mean?

We have been pregnant we have been in pain as it were we have brought forth wind any deliverance not we have accomplished in the earth nor have fallen the inhabitants of the world
הָרִ֣ינוּ חַ֔לְנוּ כְּמ֖וֹ יָלַ֣דְנוּ ר֑וּחַ יְשׁוּעֹת֙ בַּל־ נַ֣עֲשֶׂה אֶ֔רֶץ וּבַֽל־ יִפְּל֖וּ יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵֽל

הָרִ֣ינוּ  We  have  been  pregnant 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: הָרֶה 
Sense: pregnant.
חַ֔לְנוּ  we  have  been  in  pain 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: חוּל 
Sense: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained.
כְּמ֖וֹ  as  it  were 
Parse: Preposition
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
יָלַ֣דְנוּ  we  have  brought  forth 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common plural
Root: יָלַד 
Sense: to bear, bring forth, beget, gender, travail.
ר֑וּחַ  wind 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
יְשׁוּעֹת֙  any  deliverance 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: יְשׁוּעָה  
Sense: salvation, deliverance.
נַ֣עֲשֶׂה  we  have  accomplished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
אֶ֔רֶץ  in  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וּבַֽל־  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: בַּל 
Sense: not, hardly, else.
יִפְּל֖וּ  have  fallen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
תֵבֵֽל  of  the  world 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֵּבֵל  
Sense: world.