Isaiah 26
Contemporary English Version
A Song of Victory
26 The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song:
“Our city[a] is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
and he gives us victory.
2 Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
that is faithful to God.
3 The Lord gives perfect peace
to those whose faith is firm.
4 So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
our mighty rock.[b]
5 God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city[c]
and rubbed it in the dirt.
6 Now the poor and abused
trample all over that city.”
The Lord Can Be Trusted
7 Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
for those who obey you.
8 You are the one we trust
to bring about justice;
above all else we want
your name to be honored.
9 Throughout the night,
my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
how to live right.
10 Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
to your glory, our Lord.
11 (A) Your hand is raised and ready
to punish them,
but they don't see it.
Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
intended for your enemies.
12 You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
was by your power.
13 Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
but we obey only you.
14 Those enemies are now dead
and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
completely forgotten.
15 Our nation has grown
because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
and you are honored.
The Lord Gives Life to the Dead
16 When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
to you, our Lord.[d]
17 Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
about to give birth.
18 But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
to take over the earth.
19 Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
you give life to the dead.
20 Go inside and lock the doors,
my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
is no longer angry.
The Earth and the Sea Will Be Punished
21 The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
will be known and punished.
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.
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