Isaiah 26
1 In that day this song is sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city, He makes salvation [for] walls and bulwark.
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.
2 Open the gates, That a righteous nation may enter, Preserving steadfastness.
Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter— one that remains faithful.
3 You keep [him] in peace [whose] imagination [is] stayed—peace! For he is confident in You.
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
4 Trust in YHWH forever, For in YAH—YHWH [is] a rock of ages,
Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
5 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,
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.
6 A foot treads it down, Feet of the poor—steps of the weak.
Feet trample it down— the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.
7 The path for the righteous [is] uprightness, O upright One, You ponder the path of the righteous.
The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the upright.
8 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.
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.
9 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.
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.
10 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.
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.
11 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.
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!
12 O YHWH, You appoint peace to us, For You have also worked all our works for us.
O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us.
13 O our God YHWH, lords have ruled us besides You, Only, by You we make mention of Your Name.
O LORD our God, other lords besides You have had dominion, but Your name alone do we confess.
14 Dead—they do not live, Rephaim, they do not rise, Therefore You have inspected and destroy them, Indeed, you destroy all their memory.
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.
15 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.
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.
16 O YHWH, in distress they missed You, They have poured out a whisper, Your discipline [is] on them.
O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
17 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.
As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD.
18 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.
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.
19 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.
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.
20 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.
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
21 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!”
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.
