Isaiah 26:1-6
New English Translation
Judah Will Celebrate
26 At that time[a] this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city!
The Lord’s[b] deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure.[c]
2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter—
one that remains trustworthy.
3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,
for they trust in you.[d]
4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward,[e]
even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector![f]
5 Indeed,[g] the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,
he brings down an elevated town;
he brings it down to the ground,[h]
he throws it down to the dust.
6 It is trampled underfoot
by the feet of the oppressed,
by the soles of the poor.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:1 tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).
- Isaiah 26:1 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Isaiah 26:1 tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”
- Isaiah 26:3 tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.
- Isaiah 26:4 tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (ʿade ʿad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.
- Isaiah 26:4 tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yehvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsaa) confirms the MT reading as well.
- Isaiah 26:5 tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).
- Isaiah 26:5 tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.
Isaiah 26:1-6
Amplified Bible
Song of Trust in God’s Protection
26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts.
2
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that [a]remains faithful and trustworthy.
3
“You will keep in [b]perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both [c]inclination and character],
Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].
4
“Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],
For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
5
“For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust.
6
“The foot will trample it,
Even the feet of the suffering, and the steps of the helpless.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 26:2 Lit keeps trustworthiness.
- Isaiah 26:3 Lit peace, peace, a Hebrew idiom of emphasis.
- Isaiah 26:3 The Hebrew word for inclination became a technical term in Jewish tradition, and the rabbis frequently referred to the “evil inclination” much in the same sense as the sin nature. They also recognized a “good inclination,” which the righteous choose to follow, and urged people to make their good inclination king over the evil inclination.
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