A Song of Salvation

26 In (A)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
(B)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
(C)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which [a]keeps the truth may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect (D)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
(E)For in Yah, the Lord, is [b]everlasting strength.
For He brings [c]down those who dwell on high,
(F)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
The foot shall [d]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”

The way of the just is uprightness;
(G)O Most Upright,
You [e]weigh the path of the just.
Yes, (H)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have (I)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
(J)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 (K)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In (L)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, (M)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For [f]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works [g]in us.
13 O Lord our God, (N)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to (O)perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have (P)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the [h]borders of the land.

16 Lord, (Q)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As (R)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her [i]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, [j]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have (S)the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 (T)Your dead shall live;
Together with [k]my dead body they shall arise.
(U)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

20 Come, my people, (V)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, (W)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord (X)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her [l]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:2 Or remains faithful
  2. Isaiah 26:4 Or Rock of Ages
  3. Isaiah 26:5 low
  4. Isaiah 26:6 trample
  5. Isaiah 26:7 Or make level
  6. Isaiah 26:11 Or Your zeal for the people
  7. Isaiah 26:12 Or for us
  8. Isaiah 26:15 Or ends
  9. Isaiah 26:17 sharp pains
  10. Isaiah 26:18 given birth to
  11. Isaiah 26:19 So with MT, Vg.; Syr., Tg. their dead bodies; LXX those in the tombs
  12. Isaiah 26:21 Or bloodshed

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)
Open the gates(F)
    that the righteous(G) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace(H)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust(I) in you.
Trust(J) in the Lord forever,(K)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(L) eternal.
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)
Feet trample(O) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,(P)
    the footsteps of the poor.(Q)

The path of the righteous is level;(R)
    you, the Upright One,(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.(T)
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.
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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
  2. Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

You Keep Him in Perfect Peace

26 In that day (A)this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
    he sets up (B)salvation
    as walls and bulwarks.
(C)Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.
(D)You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
(E)For he has humbled
    the inhabitants of the height,
    the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
    casts it to the dust.
The foot tramples it,
    the feet of (F)the poor,
    the steps of (G)the needy.”

The path of the righteous is level;
    (H)you make level the way of the righteous.
In the path of your judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for you;
(I)your name and (J)remembrance
    are the desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
(K)For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 (L)If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11 O Lord, (M)your hand is lifted up,
    but (N)they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let (O)the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12 O Lord, you will ordain (P)peace for us,
    for you have indeed done for us all our works.
13 O Lord our God,
    (Q)other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    (R)but your name alone we bring to remembrance.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
    they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end you have visited them with destruction
    and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15 (S)But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    (T)you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

16 O Lord, (U)in distress they sought you;
    they poured out a whispered prayer
    when your discipline was upon them.
17 (V)Like a pregnant woman
    who writhes and cries out in her pangs
    when she is near to giving birth,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
18     (W)we were pregnant, we writhed,
    but we have given birth to wind.
We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,
    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 (X)Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For (Y)your dew is a dew of light,
    and the earth will give birth to the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves (Z)for a little while
    until the fury has passed by.
21 (AA)For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place
    to punish the inhabitants of (AB)the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,
    and will no more cover its slain.

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.
Open the (D)gates, that the (E)righteous nation may enter,
The one that [b]remains faithful.
The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect (F)peace,
Because he trusts in You.
(G)Trust in the Lord forever,
For in [c]God the Lord, we have an everlasting (H)Rock.
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.
(K)The foot will trample it,
The feet of the (L)poor, the steps of the helpless.”

The (M)way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, (N)make the path of the righteous level.
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.
(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

  1. Isaiah 26:1 Or salvation
  2. Isaiah 26:2 Lit keeps faithfulness
  3. Isaiah 26:4 Heb Yah, usually rendered Lord
  4. Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my soul I long
  5. Isaiah 26:9 Lit with my spirit...I seek
  6. Isaiah 26:9 Lit has
  7. Isaiah 26:11 Or Let them see...and be
  8. Isaiah 26:11 Or let the fire for Your adversaries devour them
  9. Isaiah 26:13 Or make Your name known
  10. Isaiah 26:14 Or shades
  11. Isaiah 26:16 Lit sound forth a whisper
  12. Isaiah 26:18 Lit fallen
  13. Isaiah 26:19 As in some ancient versions; MT My
  14. Isaiah 26:19 Lit lights
  15. Isaiah 26:19 Lit cause to fall
  16. Isaiah 26:19 Or shades
  17. Isaiah 26:20 Lit moment
  18. Isaiah 26:20 Lit passes over