Isaiah 26

1 On that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: A strong city have we; his aid will he grant [us] as walls and defence.

In that day this song is sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city, He makes salvation [for] walls and bulwark.

2 Open ye the gates, that there may enter in the righteous nation which guardeth the truth.

Open the gates, That a righteous nation may enter, Preserving steadfastness.

3 The confiding mind wilt thou keep in perfect peace; because he trusteth in thee.

You keep [him] in peace [whose] imagination [is] stayed—peace! For he is confident in You.

4 Trust ye in the Lord unto eternity; for in Yah the Lord is everlasting protection.

Trust in YHWH forever, For in YAH—YHWH [is] a rock of ages,

5 For he bendeth down the dwellers of the height; the lofty fortress—he layeth it low; he layeth it low, along the ground; he casteth it down to the dust.

For He bowed down the dwellers on high, A city set on high He makes low, He makes it low to the earth, He causes it to come to the dust,

6 The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

A foot treads it down, Feet of the poor—steps of the weak.

7 The path of the just is straight: thou, most upright, dost ever level the road of the just.

The path for the righteous [is] uprightness, O upright One, You ponder the path of the righteous.

8 Yea, on the path of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; for thy name, and for the remembrance of thee, was the longing of our soul.

Also, [in] the path of Your judgments, O YHWH, we have waited [for] You, To Your Name and to Your remembrance [Is] the desire of the soul.

9 In my soul have I longed for thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek for thee; for when thy judgments are [sent] on the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

I desired You in the night [with] my soul, Also, I seek You earnestly [with] my spirit within me, For when Your judgments [are] on the earth, The inhabitants of the world have learned righteousness.

10 If favor be shown to the wicked, he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not regard the majesty of the Lord.

The wicked finds favor, He has not learned righteousness, He deals perversely in a land of straightforwardness, And does not see the excellence of YHWH.

11 Lord, thy hand was raised high, but they would not see: oh that they might see, and be ashamed, [thy] zeal for the people; yea, the fire which shall devour them—thy enemies.

O YHWH, Your hand [is] high—they do not see, They see the zeal of the people, and are ashamed, Also, the fire consumes Your adversaries.

12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for also all our works hast thou accomplished for us.

O YHWH, You appoint peace to us, For You have also worked all our works for us.

13 O Lord our God, lords have had dominion over us beside thee; [but] of thee only would we make mention, —of thy name.

O our God YHWH, lords have ruled us besides You, Only, by You we make mention of Your Name.

14 [They are] dead, they will not live [again]; [they are] departed, they will not rise [again]; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made to perish every memorial of them.

Dead—they do not live, Rephaim, they do not rise, Therefore You have inspected and destroy them, Indeed, you destroy all their memory.

15 Thou hast done more for the nation, O Lord, thou hast done more for the nation; thou hast glorified thyself: thou hast enlarged all the ends of the earth.

You have added to the nation, O YHWH, You have added to the nation, You have been honored, You have put all the ends of the earth far off.

16 Lord, in trouble have they sought thee, they poured out earnest prayers when thy chastening was upon them.

O YHWH, in distress they missed You, They have poured out a whisper, Your discipline [is] on them.

17 Like as a pregnant woman, that is near giving birth, is in pain, [and] crieth out in her pangs: so have we been in thy presence, O Lord.

When a pregnant woman comes near to the birth, She is pained—she cries in her pangs, So we have been from Your face, O YHWH.

18 We have been pregnant and in pain, [but it was] as though we brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the land; and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.

We have conceived, we have been pained. We have brought forth, as it were, wind, We do not work salvation in the earth, Nor do the inhabitants of the world fall.

19 Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing ye, that dwell in the dust; for a dew on herbs is thy dew, and the earth shall cast out the departed.

Your dead live—My dead body, they rise. Awake and sing, you dwellers in the dust, For the dew of herbs [is] your dew, And you cause the land of Rephaim to fall.

20 Go, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy door behind thee: hide thyself but for a little moment, until the indignation be passed away.

Come, My people, enter into your inner chambers, And shut your doors behind you, Hide yourself shortly [for] a moment until the indignation passes over.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth on them: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more be a cover over her slain.

For behold, YHWH is coming out of His place, To charge the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth on him, And the earth has revealed her blood, Nor does she cover her slain anymore!”