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26 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

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

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18 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.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

A Song of Salvation

26 In (A)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
(B)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
(C)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [a]keeps the truth may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect (D)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
(E)For in Yah, the Lord, is [b]everlasting strength.
For He brings [c]down those who dwell on high,
(F)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
The foot shall [d]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”

The way of the just is uprightness;
(G)O Most Upright,
You [e]weigh the path of the just.
Yes, (H)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (I)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
(J)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 (K)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (L)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (M)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [f]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [g]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (N)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to (O)perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have (P)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the [h]borders of the land.

16 Lord, (Q)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (R)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [i]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [j]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (S)the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 (T)Your dead shall live;
Together with [k]my dead body they shall arise.
(U)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

20 Come, my people, (V)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (W)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (X)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [l]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
  2. Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
  3. Isaiah 26:5 low
  4. Isaiah 26:6 trample
  5. Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
  6. Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
  7. Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
  8. Isaiah 26:15 Or ends
  9. Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
  10. Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
  11. Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs
  12. Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed

A Song of Victory

26 The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song:

“Our city[a] is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
    and he gives us victory.
Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
    that is faithful to God.
The Lord gives perfect peace
    to those whose faith is firm.
So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
    our mighty rock.[b]
God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city[c]
    and rubbed it in the dirt.
Now the poor and abused
    trample all over that city.”

The Lord Can Be Trusted

Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
    for those who obey you.
You are the one we trust
    to bring about justice;
above all else we want
    your name to be honored.
Throughout the night,
    my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
    how to live right.

10 Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
    in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
    to your glory, our Lord.
11 (A) Your hand is raised and ready
    to punish them,
but they don't see it.
    Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
    intended for your enemies.

12 You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
    was by your power.
13 Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
    but we obey only you.
14 Those enemies are now dead
    and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
    completely forgotten.
15 Our nation has grown
    because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
    and you are honored.

The Lord Gives Life to the Dead

16 When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
    to you, our Lord.[d]
17 Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
    about to give birth.
18 But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
    produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
    to take over the earth.

19 Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
    and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
    you give life to the dead.

20 Go inside and lock the doors,
    my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
    is no longer angry.

The Earth and the Sea Will Be Punished

21 The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
    for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
    will be known and punished.

Footnotes

  1. 26.1 city: Probably Jerusalem.
  2. 26.4 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
  3. 26.5 our enemies … city: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  4. 26.16 Lord: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.

Trusting in God forever

26 On that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
Ours is a strong city!
    God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.
Open the gates and let a righteous nation enter,
    a nation that keeps faith.
Those with sound thoughts you will keep in peace,
    in peace because they trust in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord is a rock for all ages.
He has thrown down those living on high,
    and he will level the lofty town,
    leveling it down to the earth;
    he will bring it down to dust.
The feet trample it,
    the feet of the poor,
    the steps of the needy.

The way of the righteous is level;
    you clear a path for the righteous.
In the path of your justice, Lord, we wait for you;
with all our being, we long for your name and your acclaim.
    At night I long for you with my whole being;
    my spirit within me watches for you.
When your judgments are at work in the earth,
    those living in the world learn righteousness.
10 When the wicked are favored, they don’t learn righteousness;
    even among those who do right they do wrong,
    and they fail to see the Lord’s majesty.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted up,
    but they don’t see.
    Let them see and shrink back because of your zeal for your people;
    your burning anger that consumes your enemies.

12 Lord, grant us peace,
    because all that we have done has been your doing.
13 Lord our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
    but we will profess your name alone.
14 The dead don’t live; ghosts don’t rise.
    Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them,
    and abolished all memory of them.
15 You’ve enlarged the nation, Lord.
    You’ve enlarged the nation; you are glorified.
    You’ve expanded all the land’s boundaries.
16 Lord, in distress they sought you out;
    they poured out prayers to you when you disciplined them.
17 As a pregnant woman close to childbirth is in labor pains,
    crying out in her pangs,
    so were we because of you, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed,
but we gave birth to wind.
We have achieved no victories on earth;
    the inhabitants of the earth never fall.

19 Your dead will live, their[a] corpses will rise,
    and those who dwell in the dust will shout for joy.
Your shadow is a shadow of light,
    but you will bring down the ghosts into the underworld.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you.
    Take cover, for in a little while the fury will be over.
21 Look! The Lord is going out from his place
    to bring the iniquity of the ruler of the earth down upon him.
The earth will uncover its blood
    and will conceal its slain no longer.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:19 Or my

A Song of Praise to God

26 At that time people will sing this song in Judah:

We have a strong city.
    God protects us with its strong walls and defenses.
Open the gates,
    and the good people will enter,
    those who follow God.
You, Lord, give true peace
    to those who depend on you,
    because they trust you.
So, trust the Lord always,
    because he is our Rock forever.
He will destroy the proud city,
    and he will punish the people living there.
He will bring that high city down to the ground
    and throw it down into the dust.
Then those who were hurt by the city will walk on its ruins;
    those who were made poor by the city will trample it under their feet.

The path of life is level for those who are right with God;
    Lord, you make the way of life smooth for those people.
But, Lord, we are waiting
    for your way of justice.
Our souls want to remember
    you and your name.
My soul wants to be with you at night,
    and my spirit wants to be with you at the dawn of every day.
When your way of justice comes to the land,
    people of the world will learn the right way of living.
10 Evil people will not learn to do good
    even if you show them kindness.
They will continue doing evil, even if they live in a good world;
    they never see the Lord’s greatness.
11 Lord, you are ready to punish those people,
    but they do not see that.
Show them your strong love for your people.
    Then those who are evil will be ashamed.
Burn them in the fire
    you have prepared for your enemies.
12 Lord, all our success is because of what you have done,
    so give us peace.
13 Lord, our God, other masters besides you have ruled us,
    but we honor only you.
14 Those masters are now dead;
    their ghosts will not rise from death.
You punished and destroyed them
    and erased any memory of them.
15 Lord, you multiplied the number of your people;
    you multiplied them and brought honor to yourself.
You made the borders of the land wide.
16 Lord, people remember you when they are in trouble;
    they say quiet prayers to you when you punish them.
17 Lord, when we are with you,
    we are like a woman giving birth to a baby;
    she cries and has pain from the birth.
18 In the same way, we had pain.
    We gave birth, but only to wind.
We don’t bring salvation to the land
    or make new people for the world.
19 Your people have died, but they will live again;
    their bodies will rise from death.
You who lie in the ground,
    wake up and be happy!
The dew covering you is like the dew of a new day;
    the ground will give birth to the dead.

Judgment: Reward or Punishment

20 My people, go into your rooms
    and shut your doors behind you.
Hide in your rooms for a short time
    until God’s anger is finished.
21 The Lord will leave his place
    to punish the people of the world for their sins.
The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed;
    it will not cover the dead any longer.