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 will this song be made in the land of Judah: We have a strong town; he will make salvation our walls and towers.
2 Open the gates, That a righteous nation may enter, Preserving steadfastness.
Let the doors be open, so that the upright nation which keeps faith may come in.
3 You keep [him] in peace [whose] imagination [is] stayed—peace! For he is confident in You.
The man whose heart is unmoved you will keep in peace, because his hope is in you.
4 Trust in YHWH forever, For in YAH—YHWH [is] a rock of ages,
Let your hope be in the Lord for ever: for the Lord Jah is an unchanging Rock.
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 made low those who are lifted up, all the people of the town of pride: he makes it low, crushing it down to the earth; he makes it low in the dust.
6 A foot treads it down, Feet of the poor—steps of the weak.
It will be crushed under the feet of the poor and the steps of those who are in need.
7 The path for the righteous [is] uprightness, O upright One, You ponder the path of the righteous.
The way of the good man is straight; the road of the upright is made smooth by you.
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.
We have been waiting for you, O Lord; the desire of our soul is for the memory of your name.
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.
In the night the desire of my soul has been for you; early will my spirit be searching for you; for when your punishments come on the earth, the people of the world will get the knowledge of 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.
Even if you are kind to the evil-doer, he will not go after righteousness; even in the land of the upright he will still go on in his wrongdoing, and will not see the glory 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.
Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see: let them see ... yes, your haters will be burned up in the fire.
12 O YHWH, You appoint peace to us, For You have also worked all our works for us.
Lord, you will give us peace: for all our works are the outcome of your purpose.
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 than you have had rule over us; but in you only is our salvation, and no other name will we take on our lips.
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 come back to life: their spirits will not come back to earth; for this cause you have sent destruction on them, so that the memory of them is dead.
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 made the nation great, O Lord, you have made it great; glory is yours: you have made wide the limits of the land.
16 O YHWH, in distress they missed You, They have poured out a whisper, Your discipline [is] on them.
Lord, in trouble our eyes have been turned to you, we sent up a prayer when your punishment was on us.
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, whose time is near, is troubled, crying out in her pain; so have we been before you, 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 have been with child, we have been in pain, we have given birth to wind; no salvation has come to the earth through us, and no children have come 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 come back; their dead bodies will come to life again. Those in the dust, awaking from their sleep, will send out a song; for your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the shades.
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.
Come, my people, into your secret places, and let your doors be shut: keep yourself safe for a short time, till his wrath is over.
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 the Lord is coming out of his place to send punishment on the people of the earth for their evil-doing: the earth will let the blood drained out on her be seen, and will keep her dead covered no longer.
