Isaiah 26
Christian Standard Bible
The Song of Judah
26 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city.
Salvation is established as walls and ramparts.(A)
2 Open the gates
so a righteous nation can come in—
one that remains faithful.
3 You will keep the mind that is dependent on you
in perfect peace,(B)
for it is trusting in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!(C)
5 For he has humbled those who live in lofty places—
an inaccessible city.(D)
He brings it down; he brings it down to the ground;
he throws it to the dust.
6 Feet trample it,
the feet of the humble,
the steps of the poor.
God’s People Vindicated
7 The path of the righteous is level;(E)
you clear a straight path for the righteous.
8 Yes, Lord, we wait for you
in the path of your judgments.
Our desire is for your name and renown.(F)
9 I long for you in the night;(G)
yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you,
for when your judgments are in the land,
the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 But if the wicked man is shown favor,
he does not learn righteousness.
In a righteous land he acts unjustly
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted up to take action,
but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people
and be put to shame.
Let fire consume your adversaries.
12 Lord, you will establish peace for us,
for you have also done all our work for us.
13 Lord our God, lords other than you have owned[a] us,
but we remember your name alone.(H)
14 The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them;
you have wiped out all memory of them.(I)
15 You have added to the nation, Lord.(J)
You have added to the nation; you are honored.
You have expanded all the borders of the land.(K)
16 Lord, they went to you in their distress;(L)
they poured out whispered prayers
because your discipline fell on them.[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pains,(M)
so we were before you, Lord.
18 We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;
we gave birth to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and the earth’s inhabitants have not fallen.
19 Your dead will live; their bodies[c] will rise.(N)
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!
For you will be covered with the morning dew,[d]
and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and close your doors behind you.
Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.(O)
21 For look, the Lord is coming from his place(P)
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.(Q)
The earth will reveal the blood shed on it
and will no longer conceal her slain.
Isaiah 26
International Standard Version
The Song of Redeemed Judah
“We have a strong city;
God crafts victory,
its walls and ramparts.[c]
2 Open your[d] gates,
so the righteous nation that safeguards its faith may enter.
3 You will keep perfectly peaceful[e]
the one whose mind remains focused on you,
because he remains[f] in you.
4 “Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord God[g] you have an everlasting rock.
5 For he has made drunk[h]
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low[i] to the ground
casting it down to the dust,
6 by the feet of the oppressed who trample it,[j]
by the footsteps of the needy.[k]
7 “The path of the righteous is level;
O Upright One,[l]
you make safe[m] the way of justice.[n]
8 Yes, Lord, in the path of your judgments we wait;[o]
your name and your Law[p] are the[q] soul’s desire.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me searches for you.
For when your judgments come upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn righteousness.
10 If favor is shown to the wicked,
they don’t learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they act perversely
and do not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 “Lord, your hand is lifted up,
but they do not see it.
And[r] let them see your zeal for your[s] people
and be put to shame—
yes, let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them!
12 Lord, you will decide[t] peace for us,
for you have indeed accomplished
all our achievements for us.
13 O Lord our God,
other lords besides you have ruled over us,
but through you alone
we acknowledge your name.
14 The dead won’t live,
and[u] the departed spirits won’t rise—
to that end, you punished and destroyed them,
then locked away[v] all memory of them.
15 “But you have enlarged the nation,[w] Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.[x]
You have gained honor;
you have extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they[y] came to you in distress;
they poured out their secret[z] prayer
when your chastenings were[aa] afflicting[ab] 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.
18 We were pregnant, writhing in pain,
but we gave birth only to wind.
We have not won your[ac] victory on earth,
nor have the inhabitants of the world been born.”
The Resurrection of the Dead
19 “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise.
Those who live in the dust will wake up and shout for joy![ad]
For your dew is like the dew of dawn,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your rooms
and shut your doors[ae] behind you.
Hide yourselves[af] for a little while
until the fury has passed by.
21 For see, the Lord is coming from his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their sins;
the earth will reveal the blood that has been shed on it,
and will no longer conceal its slain.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:1 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 26:1 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsac MT read time, this song will be sung; LXX reads time, they will sing that song
- Isaiah 26:1 So 4QIsac; 1QIsaa MT read walls and ramparts; LXX reads wall and rampart
- Isaiah 26:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the
- Isaiah 26:3 Lit. peace, peace; so 1QIsaa MT; LXX Syr read peace
- Isaiah 26:3 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab LXX; 4QIsac MT read trusts
- Isaiah 26:4 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsab reads the Lord God; LXX reads the Lord, the Lord
- Isaiah 26:5 So MT 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsab 4QIsac MT read has brought low; LXX reads has humbled and brought down
- Isaiah 26:5 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads He levels it, he levels it
- Isaiah 26:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads The foot tramples it
- Isaiah 26:6 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads oppressed
- Isaiah 26:7 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsac reads they go straight ahead; LXX lacks this line
- Isaiah 26:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read smooth or you prepare
- Isaiah 26:7 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac; MT LXX read of the righteous ones
- Isaiah 26:8 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads we wait for you
- Isaiah 26:8 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT read your renown; cf. LXX
- Isaiah 26:8 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsab reads my
- Isaiah 26:11 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; the Heb. lacks And
- Isaiah 26:11 Lit. the; so 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks your
- Isaiah 26:12 So 1QIsaa; MT reads prepare or give; LXX reads Lord, give
- Isaiah 26:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsaa corrector MT lack and
- Isaiah 26:14 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read wiped out
- Isaiah 26:15 So 1QIsaa 4QIsab
- Isaiah 26:15 So 1QIsaa; MTms lacks this line
- Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXXmss read we; LXX reads I remembered you
- Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT read out a magical
- Isaiah 26:16 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read your chastening was
- Isaiah 26:16 Lit. upon
- Isaiah 26:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks your
- Isaiah 26:19 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Wake up and shout for joy, you; LXX reads Those in the dust will rejoice, for
- Isaiah 26:20 So 1QIsaa MT; MTqere reads door
- Isaiah 26:20 So 1QIsaa; MT reads yourself
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