Isaiah 26
1 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.
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 ye the gates, That the righteous nation may enter in, The nation that keepeth the truth.
Let the doors be open, so that the upright nation which keeps faith may come in.
3 Him that is of a steadfast mind Thou wilt keep in continual peace, Because he trusteth in thee.
The man whose heart is unmoved you will keep in peace, because his hope is in you.
4 Trust ye in Jehovah forever, For the Lord Jehovah is an everlasting rock.
Let your hope be in the Lord for ever: for the Lord Jah is an unchanging Rock.
5 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.
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 The foot trampleth upon her, The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.
It will be crushed under the feet of the poor and the steps of those who are in need.
7 The way of the upright is a smooth way; Thou, O most righteous, doth level the path of the upright!
The way of the good man is straight; the road of the upright is made smooth by you.
8 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.
We have been waiting for you, O Lord; the desire of our soul is for the memory of your name.
9 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 Thou, O Jehovah, wilt give us peace; For all our works thou doest for us.
Lord, you will give us peace: for all our works are the outcome of your purpose.
13 O Jehovah, our God, other lords have had dominion over us besides thee; Only through thee do we call upon thy 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 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.
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 “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.
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 Jehovah, in affliction they sought thee; They poured out their prayer, when thy chastisement was upon them.
Lord, in trouble our eyes have been turned to you, we sent up a prayer when your punishment was on us.
17 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!
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 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.
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 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.”
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 thy chambers, And shut thy doors behind thee; Hide thyself for a little moment, Until the indignation be overpast!
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, 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.
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.
