Isaiah 26
1 At that time, this will be the song that is sung in the land of Judah: “Ours is a strong city! Its walls and defenses are our salvation!
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; His aid doth God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open the gates so the nation who follows the right can come in, the nation that stays faithful.
Open ye the gates, That the righteous nation may enter in, The nation that keepeth the truth.
3 You will keep in complete peace those who keep their minds focused on you, because they trust in you.
Him that is of a steadfast mind Thou wilt keep in continual peace, Because he trusteth in thee.
4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
Trust ye in Jehovah forever, For the Lord Jehovah is an everlasting rock.
5 He brings down those who live so high and mighty; he demolishes the proud city with its high walls, bringing it down to the ground, into the dust.
For he hath brought down the inhabitants of the fortress; The lofty city he hath laid low; He hath laid her low even to the ground; He hath levelled her with the dust.
6 The poor tread it underfoot; the oppressed walk on top of it.
The foot trampleth upon her, The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
7 You God, do what is right, and you straighten out the way for those who live right; you smooth out their path.
The way of the upright is a smooth way; Thou, O most righteous, doth level the path of the upright!
8 Yes, we follow your instructions, Lord, we put our hope in you. What we most want is to remember you and your wonderful character.
In the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, we have waited for thee; The desire of our souls is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
9 I look for you in the night; deep inside me I long for you. When your laws are shown to the earth, then the people of the world learn what is right.
My soul longeth for thee in the night, And my spirit within me seeketh thee in the morning; For when thy judgments are in the earth, The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though grace is shown to the wicked, they don't learn to do right. Even in a country where people do what's right, they continue to do evil and they don't think about how great the Lord is.
Though favor be shown to the wicked, He will not learn righteousness; In the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, And have no regard to the majesty of Jehovah.
11 Lord, you are holding your hand up, but they don't see it. Let them see your passionate commitment for your people, and be embarrassed; may the fire reserved for your enemies destroy them!
Thy hand, O Jehovah, is lifted up, yet do they not see; But they shall see with shame thy zeal for thy people; Yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries.
12 Lord, you give us peace and prosperity; everything we've achieved you have done for us.
Thou, O Jehovah, wilt give us peace; For all our works thou doest for us.
13 Lord our God, there have been other lords besides you who have ruled us, but you are the only one we worship.
O Jehovah, our God, other lords have had dominion over us besides thee; Only through thee do we call upon thy name.
14 They are dead, they will not live again; they will not rise from the grave. Lord, you punished them and destroyed them—even wiping out every memory about them.
They are dead, they shall not live; They are shades, they shall not rise. For thou hast visited and destroyed them, And caused all the memory of them to perish.
15 You have made the nation grow, Lord, you have made the nation grow. You have expanded our borders of the land, and we honored you.
“Thou wilt enlarge the nation, O Jehovah! Thou wilt enlarge the nation; thou wilt glorify thyself; Thou wilt widely extend all the borders of the land.
16 Lord, when we were suffering we came to you, pouring out our prayers like whispers as you disciplined us.
O Jehovah, in affliction they sought thee; They poured out their prayer, when thy chastisement was upon them.
17 Just as a pregnant woman giving birth tosses about and cries out in pain, that's what we were like in your presence, Lord.
As a woman with child, when her delivery is near, Is in anguish, and crieth aloud in her pangs, So have we been, far from thy presence, O Jehovah!
18 However, even though we became pregnant and we tossed about in pain, we gave birth to nothing but air. We did not bring about the salvation of the earth, and the people of the world have not become alive.
We have been with child; we have been in anguish, Yet have, as it were, brought forth wind. To the land we bring no deliverance; Nor are the inhabitants of the land born.
19 But those who died in you, Lord, will live! Their bodies will rise again! Wake up, and sing for joy, you people sleeping in the dust, for the dew you receive is like the dew of the morning giving life to those in the grave.
O might thy dead live again, Might the dead bodies of my people arise! Awake, and sing, ye that dwell in the dust! For thy dew is like the dew upon plants, And the earth shall bring forth her dead.”
20 My people, go inside your homes and close your doors behind you. Hide there for a little while until the fury has passed.
Come, my people, enter into thy chambers, And shut thy doors behind thee; Hide thyself for a little moment, Until the indignation be overpast!
21 Watch out! The Lord is coming from where he lives to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will reveal the blood that has been shed on it; the earth won't hide those who have been killed any no longer.”
For behold, Jehovah cometh forth from his place, To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth shall disclose her blood, And shall no longer cover her slain.
