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 shall this canticle be sung the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.
2 Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter— one that remains faithful.
Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.
3 You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.
4 Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.
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 shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.
6 Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.
The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
7 The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
The way of the just is right, the 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 way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy 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 hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee. When thou shalt do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall 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 have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall 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 thy hand be exalted, and let them not see: let the envious people see, and be confounded: and let fire devour thy enemies.
12 O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.
Lord, thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us.
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 besides thee have had dominion over us, only in thee let us remember thy 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 again: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and best destroyed all their memory.
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.
Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified? thou hast removed all the ends of the earth far off.
16 O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them.
17 As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so are we become in thy presence, 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 been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore 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.
Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.
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 into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away.
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 come out of his place, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more.
