¹⁵ “But you have enlarged the nation,^[a] Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.^[b]
You have gained honor;
    you have extended all the borders of the land.

¹⁶ Lord, they^[c] came to you in distress;
    they poured out their secret^[d] prayer
        when your chastenings were^[e] afflicting^[f] them.
¹⁷ Just as a pregnant woman writhes
    and cries out during her labor
when she is about to give birth,
    so were we because of you, Lord.