Isaiah 26:18 (DRB)

Passage

We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 26:16 Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them.

Isaiah 26:17 As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so are we become in thy presence, O Lord.

Isaiah 26:18 We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.

Isaiah 26:19 Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

Isaiah 26:20 Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "conceived", "been", "labour", "brought", "forth", "wind", "wrought", and "salvation". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "conceived" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "As a woman with child when she..." into verse 19's "Thy dead men shall live my slain...", so "conceived" and "been" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "conceived" and "been" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.