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Isaiah 26-28
New International Version
Isaiah 26-28
New International Version
A Song of Praise
26 In that day(A) this song will be sung(B) in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;(C)
God makes salvation
its walls(D) and ramparts.(E)
2 Open the gates(F)
that the righteous(G) nation may enter,
the nation that keeps faith.
3 You will keep in perfect peace(H)
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust(I) in you.
4 Trust(J) in the Lord forever,(K)
for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(L) eternal.
5 He humbles those who dwell on high,
he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(M)
and casts it down to the dust.(N)
6 Feet trample(O) it down—
the feet of the oppressed,(P)
the footsteps of the poor.(Q)
7 The path of the righteous is level;(R)
you, the Upright One,(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.(T)
8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[a](U)
we wait(V) for you;
your name(W) and renown
are the desire of our hearts.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night;(X)
in the morning my spirit longs(Y) for you.
When your judgments(Z) come upon the earth,
the people of the world learn righteousness.(AA)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(AB)
they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(AC)
and do not regard(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(AE)
but they do not see(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal(AG) for your people and be put to shame;(AH)
let the fire(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.
12 Lord, you establish peace(AJ) for us;
all that we have accomplished you have done(AK) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
but your name(AM) alone do we honor.(AN)
14 They are now dead,(AO) they live no more;
their spirits(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(AQ)
you wiped out all memory of them.(AR)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
you have enlarged the nation.(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
you have extended all the borders(AT) of the land.
16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(AU)
when you disciplined(AV) them,
they could barely whisper(AW) a prayer.[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(AX)
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
but we gave birth(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(AZ) to the earth,
and the people of the world have not come to life.(BA)
19 But your dead(BB) will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(BC)
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.(BE)
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors(BF) behind you;
hide(BG) yourselves for a little while
until his wrath(BH) has passed by.(BI)
21 See, the Lord is coming(BJ) out of his dwelling(BK)
to punish(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(BM) shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Deliverance of Israel
27 In that day,(BN)
the Lord will punish with his sword(BO)—
his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(BP) the gliding serpent,(BQ)
Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(BR) of the sea.
2 In that day(BS)—
“Sing(BT) about a fruitful vineyard:(BU)
3 I, the Lord, watch over it;
I water(BV) it continually.
I guard(BW) it day and night
so that no one may harm(BX) it.
4 I am not angry.
If only there were briers and thorns confronting me!
I would march against them in battle;
I would set them all on fire.(BY)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(BZ)
let them make peace(CA) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(CB)
Israel will bud and blossom(CC)
and fill all the world with fruit.(CD)
7 Has the Lord struck her
as he struck(CE) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
as those were killed who killed her?
8 By warfare[c] and exile(CF) you contend with her—
with his fierce blast he drives her out,
as on a day the east wind(CG) blows.
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(CH) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(CI)
When he makes all the altar stones(CJ)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[d](CK) or incense altars(CL)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(CM)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(CN) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(CO)
there they lie down;(CP)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(CQ)
and women come and make fires(CR) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(CS)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(CT) shows them no favor.(CU)
12 In that day the Lord will thresh(CV) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(CW) and you, Israel, will be gathered(CX) up one by one. 13 And in that day(CY) a great trumpet(CZ) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(DA) in Egypt(DB) will come and worship(DC) the Lord on the holy mountain(DD) in Jerusalem.
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woe(DE) to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(DF) drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley(DG)—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!(DH)
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful(DI) and strong.
Like a hailstorm(DJ) and a destructive wind,(DK)
like a driving rain and a flooding(DL) downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s(DM) drunkards,
will be trampled(DN) underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,(DO)
will be like figs(DP) ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5 In that day(DQ) the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious(DR) crown,(DS)
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant(DT) of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice(DU)
to the one who sits in judgment,(DV)
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle(DW) at the gate.
7 And these also stagger(DX) from wine(DY)
and reel(DZ) from beer:
Priests(EA) and prophets(EB) stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,(EC)
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomit(ED)
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?(EE)
To whom is he explaining his message?(EF)
To children weaned(EG) from their milk,(EH)
to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that[e];
a little here, a little there.(EI)”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(EJ)
God will speak to this people,(EK)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(EL)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(EM)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(EN) and snared and captured.(EO)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(EP) you scoffers(EQ)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(ER)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(ES)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(ET) our refuge
and falsehood[f] our hiding place.(EU)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(EV) a tested stone,(EW)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(EX)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(EY)
17 I will make justice(EZ) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(FA)
hail(FB) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(FC) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(FD)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(FE)
you will be beaten down(FF) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(FG)
morning after morning,(FH) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(FI)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(FJ)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(FK)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(FL)—
to do his work,(FM) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(FN)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(FO) against the whole land.(FP)
23 Listen(FQ) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(FR) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(FS)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[g]
barley(FT) in its plot,[h]
and spelt(FU) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(FV) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(FW) with a sledge,(FX)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(FY)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(FZ) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(GA)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(GB)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
- Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Isaiah 26-28
King James Version
Isaiah 26-28
King James Version
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.
2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
5 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.
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: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8 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.
9 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.
27 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
3 I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5 Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
6 He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
7 Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
8 In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
10 Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place?
26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
New International Version (NIV) 
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