Isaiah 26:1-9

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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)