Isaiah 26
New American Standard Bible
Song of Trust in God’s Protection
26 (A)On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a (B)strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for [a](C)security.
2 Open the (D)gates, that the (E)righteous nation may enter,
The one that [b]remains faithful.
3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect (F)peace,
Because he trusts in You.
4 (G)Trust in the Lord forever,
For in [c]God the Lord, we have an everlasting (H)Rock.
5 For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the (I)unassailable city;
(J)He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6 (K)The foot will trample it,
The feet of the (L)poor, the steps of the helpless.”
7 The (M)way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, (N)make the path of the righteous level.
8 Indeed, while following the way of (O)Your judgments, Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
(P)Your name, and (Q)remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
9 (R)At night [d]my soul longs for You,
Indeed, [e]my spirit within me (S)seeks You diligently;
For when the earth [f]experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world (T)learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not (U)learn righteousness;
He (V)deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up, yet they (W)do not see it.
[g]They see (X)Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, [h](Y)fire will devour Your enemies.
12 Lord, You will establish (Z)peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
13 Lord, our God, (AA)other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we [i](AB)confess Your name.
14 (AC)The dead will not live, the [j]departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have (AD)punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
15 (AE)You have increased the nation, Lord,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have (AF)extended all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, they sought You (AG)in distress;
They [k]could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
17 (AH)As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, Lord.
18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We (AI)gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were (AJ)inhabitants of the world [l]born.
19 Your (AK)dead will live;
[m]Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, (AL)awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the [n]dawn,
And the earth will [o]give birth to the [p]departed spirits.
20 Come, my people, (AM)enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little [q](AN)while
Until (AO)indignation [r]runs its course.
21 For behold, the Lord is about to (AP)come out from His place
To (AQ)punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will (AR)reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:1 Or salvation
- Isaiah 26:2 Lit keeps faithfulness
- Isaiah 26:4 Heb Yah, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my soul I long
- Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my spirit...I seek
- Isaiah 26:9 Lit has
- Isaiah 26:11 Or Let them see...and be
- Isaiah 26:11 Or let the fire for Your adversaries devour them
- Isaiah 26:13 Or make Your name known
- Isaiah 26:14 Or shades
- Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
- Isaiah 26:18 Lit fallen
- Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; MT My
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
- Isaiah 26:19 Or shades
- Isaiah 26:20 Lit moment
- Isaiah 26:20 Lit passes over
Isaiah 26
Holman 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 Yah, the Lord, 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, Yahweh, 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.
They will see Your zeal for Your people,
and they will be put to shame.
The fire for Your adversaries will consume them!
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
for You have also done all our work for us.
13 Yahweh our God, lords other than You have ruled over us,
but we remember Your name alone.(H)
14 The dead do not live;
departed spirits do not rise up.
Indeed, You have visited 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.[a]
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[b] will rise.(N)
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!
For you will be covered with the morning dew,[c]
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.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:16 Hb obscure
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit live; my body they
- Isaiah 26:19 Lit For your dew is a dew of lights
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