Isaiah 26:16

16 LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.^[a]

Isaiah 26:16 in Other Translations

16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

16 O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them.

16 LORD, in distress we searched for you. We prayed beneath the burden of your discipline.

16 O God, they begged you for help when they were in trouble, when your discipline was so heavy they could barely whisper a prayer.

16 Jehovah, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer [when] thy chastening was upon them.

16 O LORD, the people have come to you in trouble. They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them.

16 Lord, they went to You in their distress; they poured out whispered [prayers because] Your discipline [fell] on them.

16 Lord, when your people were suffering, they came to you. When you punished them, they could barely whisper a prayer.

Isaiah 26:16 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 26:16

Lord, in trouble have they visited thee
This, and the two following verses ( Isaiah 26:17 Isaiah 26:18 ) , represent the troubles and disappointments of the church and people of God, before the destruction of antichrist; in which time of trouble they will visit the Lord, frequent the throne of grace, as saints in afflictions are wont to do; and sometimes this is the end to be answered by afflictions, ( Hosea 5:15 ) : they poured out a prayer;
or "muttering" ^F5; they will pray with a low voice, in an humble and submissive way, as persons in dejected circumstances; not a few words, but many, will they use; their petitions will be numerous; they will continue praying, and be constant at it, and out of the abundance of their hearts their mouth will speak; and they will pour out their souls and their complaints to the Lord, though privately, and with a low voice, and with groans unutterable: [when] thy chastening [was] upon them;
the afflicting hand of God, not as a punishment, but as a fatherly chastisement upon them; so all their persecutions from men are considered as permitted by the Lord for their instruction and correction; and these will not drive them from God, but bring them to him to seek him by prayer and supplication.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (vxl) "mussitationem", Montanus; "submissam orationem", Junius & Tremellius.

Isaiah 26:16 In-Context

14 They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them.

15 You have enlarged the nation, LORD; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.

16 LORD, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.

17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, LORD.

18 We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.

Cross References

• 1. S Judges 6:2; S Isaiah 5:30; Hosea 5:15
• 2. S Psalms 39:11
• 3. Isaiah 29:4

Footnotes

• [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.