Isaiah 26
World English Bible
26 In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city.
God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter:
the one which keeps faith.
3 You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace,
because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in Yahweh forever;
for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
5 For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city.
He lays it low.
He lays it low even to the ground.
He brings it even to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down,
even the feet of the poor
and the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness.
You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
8 Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, we have waited for you.
Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.
9 With my soul I have desired you in the night.
Yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you earnestly;
for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Let favor be shown to the wicked,
yet he will not learn righteousness.
In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully,
and will not see Yahweh’s majesty.
11 Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see;
but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed.
Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
12 Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us,
for you have also done all our work for us.
13 Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us,
but we will only acknowledge your name.
14 The dead shall not live.
The departed spirits shall not rise.
Therefore you have visited and destroyed them,
and caused all memory of them to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Yahweh.
You have increased the nation!
You are glorified!
You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16 Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you.
They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.
17 Just as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery,
is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
so we have been before you, Yahweh.
18 We have been with child.
We have been in pain.
We gave birth, it seems, only to wind.
We have not worked any deliverance in the earth;
neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 Your dead shall live.
My dead bodies shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust;
for your dew is like the dew of herbs,
and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms,
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide yourself for a little moment,
until the indignation is past.
21 For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
Isaiah 26
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judah’s Song of Victory
26 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
he sets up walls and bulwarks as a safeguard.(A)
2 Open the gates,
so that the righteous nation that maintains faithfulness
may enter in.(B)
3 Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace,
in peace because they trust in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord God[a]
you have an everlasting rock.(C)
5 For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height;
the lofty city he lays low.
He lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.(D)
6 The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.(E)
7 The way of the righteous is level;
straight is the path of the righteous that you clear.(F)
8 In the path of your judgments,
O Lord, we have placed hope;
your name and your renown
are the soul’s desire.(G)
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.(H)
10 If favor is shown to the wicked,
they do not learn righteousness;
they corrupt what is upright on the earth
and do not see the majesty of the Lord.(I)
11 O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people and be ashamed.
Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.(J)
12 O Lord, may you ordain peace for us,
for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.(K)
13 O Lord our God,
other lords besides you have ruled over us,
but we acknowledge your name alone.(L)
14 The dead do not live;
shades do not rise
because you have punished and destroyed them
and wiped out all memory of them.(M)
15 But you have increased the nation, O Lord;
you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
you have enlarged all the borders of the land.(N)
16 O Lord, in distress they sought you;
they poured out a prayer[b]
when your chastening was on them.(O)
17 Like a woman with child
about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we because of you, O Lord;(P)
18 we were with child; we writhed,
but we gave birth only to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
and no one is born to inhabit the world.(Q)
19 Your dead shall live; their corpses[c] shall rise.
Those who dwell in the dust will awake and shout for joy![d]
For your dew is a radiant dew,
and the earth will give birth to those long dead.[e](R)
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the wrath is past.(S)
21 For the Lord comes out from his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
the earth will disclose the blood shed on it
and will no longer cover its slain.(T)
by Public Domain. The name "World English Bible" is trademarked.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.