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Judah’s Song of Victory

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 bulwarks.
Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation which keeps faith
    may enter in.
Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
    whose mind is stayed on thee,
    because he trusts in thee.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
    for the Lord God
    is an everlasting rock.
For he has brought low
    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 the poor,
    the steps of the needy.”

The way of the righteous is level;
    thou[a] dost make smooth the path of the righteous.
In the path of thy judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for thee;
thy memorial name
    is the desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for thee in the night,
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee.
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 If favor is shown to the wicked,
    he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals perversely
    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11 O Lord, thy hand is lifted up,
    but they see it not.
Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed.
    Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.
12 O Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us,
    thou hast wrought for us all our works.
13 O Lord our God,
    other lords besides thee have ruled over us,
    but thy name alone we acknowledge.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
    they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end thou hast visited them with destruction
    and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15 But thou hast increased the nation, O Lord,
    thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified;
    thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.

16 O Lord, in distress they sought thee,
    they poured out a prayer[b]
    when thy chastening was upon them.
17 Like a woman with child,
    who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
    when she is near her time,
so were we because of thee, O Lord;
18     we were with child, we writhed,
    we have as it were brought forth wind.
We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,
    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19 Thy dead shall live, their bodies[c] shall rise.
    O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
    and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.

20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
    until the wrath is past.
21 For behold, the Lord is coming forth out of his place
    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her,
    and will no more cover her slain.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:7 Cn Compare Gk: Heb thou (that art) upright
  2. Isaiah 26:16 Heb uncertain
  3. Isaiah 26:19 Cn Compare Syr Tg: Heb my body

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.

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