Isaiah 26
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts.
In that day, this canticle will be sung in the land of Judah. Within it will be set the city of our strength: Zion, a savior, a wall with a bulwark.
2 Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter— one that remains faithful.
Open the gates, and let the just people who guard the truth enter.
3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
The old error has gone away. You will serve peace: peace, for we have hoped in you.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
You have trusted in the Lord for all eternity, in the Lord God almighty forever.
5 For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust.
For he will bend down those living in the heights. He will bring low the lofty city. He will lower it, even to the ground. He will tear it down, even to the dust.
6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.
The foot will tread it down: the feet of the poor, the steps of the indigent.
7 The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
The path of the just is upright; the difficult path of the just is right to walk in.
8 Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.
And in the path of your judgments, O Lord, we have endured for you. Your name and your remembrance are the desire of the soul.
9 My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.
My soul has desired you in the night. But I will also watch for you with my spirit, in my inmost heart, from the morning. When you accomplish your judgments upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn justice.
10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.
Let us take pity on the impious one, but he will not learn justice. In the land of the holy ones, he has done iniquity, and so he will not see the glory of the Lord.
11 O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
Lord, let your hand be exalted, and let them not see it. May the envious people see and be confounded. And may fire devour your enemies.
12 O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.
Lord, you will give us peace. For all our works have been wrought for us by you.
13 O LORD our God, other lords besides You have had dominion, but Your name alone do we confess.
O Lord our God, other lords have possessed us apart from you, but in you alone let us remember your name.
14 The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
Let not the dead live; let not the giants rise up again. For this reason, you have visited and destroyed them, and you have perished all remembrance of them.
15 You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land.
You have been lenient to the people, O Lord, lenient to the people. But have you been glorified? You have removed all the limits of the earth.
16 O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
Lord, they have sought you in anguish. Your doctrine was with them, amid the tribulation of murmuring.
17 As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
Like a woman who has conceived and is approaching the time for delivery, who, in anguish, cries out in her pains, so have we become before your face, O Lord.
18 We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.
We have conceived, and it is as if we were in labor, but we have given birth to wind. We have not brought forth salvation on the earth. For this reason, the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.
19 Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
Your dead shall live. My slain will rise again. Be awakened, and give praise, you who live in the dust! For your dew is the dew of the light, and you shall be dragged down to the land of the giants, to ruination.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
Go, my people! Enter your chambers. Close your doors behind you. Conceal yourselves for a very brief time, until the indignation has passed over you.
21 For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
For behold, the Lord will go forth from his place, so that he may visit the iniquity of each inhabitant of the earth against him. And the earth will reveal its blood, and it will no longer cover its slain.
