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A Song of Victory

26 In that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;
    He appoints walls
    and bulwarks for security.
Open the gates,
    that the righteous nation may enter,
    the one who remains faithful.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
    whose mind is stayed on You,
    because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for in God the Lord we have an everlasting rock.
For He brings down those who dwell on high,
    the lofty city; He lays it low; He lays it low,
even to the ground;
    He brings it even to the dust.
The foot shall tread it down,
    even the feet of the poor
    and the steps of the needy.

The way of the righteous is smooth;
    O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
In the way of Your judgments, O Lord,
    we have waited for You eagerly;
the desire of our souls is Your name,
    even Your memory.
With my soul I have desired You in the night;
    my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
for when Your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though favor is shown to the wicked,
    yet he will not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals unjustly
    and does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, Your hand is lifted up,
    but they do not see it.
They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
    the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will ordain peace for us,
    for You also have done all our works for us.
13 O Lord our God, other lords besides You have had dominion over us,
    but through You alone we confess Your name.
14 The dead shall not live;
    the departed spirits shall not rise.
Therefore, You have punished and destroyed them
    and made all remembrance of them to perish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
    You have increased the nation;
You are glorified;
    You have extended all the borders of the land.

16 Lord, in trouble they have sought You;
    they poured out a prayer
    when Your chastening was on them.
17 Like a woman with child, who is in pain and cries out in her 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, brought forth wind;
we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
    nor were the inhabitants of the world born.

19 Your dead shall live,
    their corpses shall arise.
Awake and sing,
    you who dwell in dust,
for your dew is as the dew of the dawn,
    and the earth shall give birth to the departed spirits.

20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
    and shut your doors behind you;
hide for a little while
    until the indignation is over.
21 For the Lord comes out of His place
    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
the earth also shall disclose her bloodshed
    and shall cover her slain no more.

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.