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The Lord’s People Praise Him for Salvation

26 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city.
    Its walls and fortifications provide safety.

Open the gates, and let the righteous nation come in,
    the nation that remains faithful.
With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed,
    because they trust you.
Trust Yahweh always,
    because Yah, Yahweh alone, is an everlasting rock.
He has brought down those who live high in the towering city.
    He levels it.
    He levels it to the ground and throws it into the dust.
Feet trample it,
    the feet of the oppressed,
        the footsteps of the poor.

The path of the righteous is level.
    O Upright One, you make the road of the righteous smooth.
Certainly, we wait with hope for you, O Yahweh,
    as we follow the path of your guiding principles.
        We want to remember you and your name.
With my soul I long for you at night.
    Yes, with my spirit I eagerly look for you.
    When your guiding principles are on earth,
    those who live in the world learn to do what is right.
10 Although the wicked are shown pity,
    they do not learn to do what is right.
    They do what is wrong in the upright land
        and do not see the majesty of Yahweh.
11 O Yahweh, your power is visible, but they do not see it.
    They will see how devoted your people are,
        and they will be put to shame.
    Your burning anger will destroy your enemies.

12 O Yahweh, you will establish peace for us,
    since you have done everything for us.
13 O Yahweh, our Elohim, you are not the only master to rule us,
    but we acknowledge only you.
14 The wicked are dead.
    They are no longer alive.
        The spirits of the dead won’t rise.
    You have punished them, destroyed them,
    and wiped out all memory of them.
15 You have expanded the nation, O Yahweh.
    You have expanded the nation.
    You are honored.
    You have extended all the land’s boundaries.
16 O Yahweh, the people have come to you in trouble.
    They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them.[a]
17 O Yahweh, when we are with you,
    we are like pregnant women ready to give birth.
        They writhe and cry out in their labor pains.
18 We were pregnant; we writhed with labor pains
    only to give birth to the wind.
    We weren’t able to bring salvation to the land,
        and no new people were born on earth.
19 Your dead will live.
    Their corpses will rise.
    Those who lie dead in the dust will wake up and shout for joy,
    because your dew is a refreshing dew,
        and the earth will revive the spirits of the dead.

20 My people, go to your rooms,
    and shut the doors behind you.
    Hide for a little while until his fury has ended.
21 Yahweh is going to come out from his dwelling place
    to punish those who live on earth for their sins.
        The earth will uncover the blood shed on it
            and will no longer cover up its dead bodies.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:16 Hebrew meaning of this line uncertain.

A Song of Praise

26 In that day(A) this song will be sung(B) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;(C)
    God makes salvation
    its walls(D) and ramparts.(E)
Open the gates(F)
    that the righteous(G) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace(H)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust(I) in you.
Trust(J) in the Lord forever,(K)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(L) eternal.
He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(M)
    and casts it down to the dust.(N)
Feet trample(O) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,(P)
    the footsteps of the poor.(Q)

The path of the righteous is level;(R)
    you, the Upright One,(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.(T)
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[a](U)
    we wait(V) for you;
your name(W) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night;(X)
    in the morning my spirit longs(Y) for you.
When your judgments(Z) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.(AA)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(AB)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(AC)
    and do not regard(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(AE)
    but they do not see(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal(AG) for your people and be put to shame;(AH)
    let the fire(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.

12 Lord, you establish peace(AJ) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done(AK) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name(AM) alone do we honor.(AN)
14 They are now dead,(AO) they live no more;
    their spirits(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(AQ)
    you wiped out all memory of them.(AR)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders(AT) of the land.

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(AU)
    when you disciplined(AV) them,
    they could barely whisper(AW) a prayer.[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(AX)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(AZ) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.(BA)

19 But your dead(BB) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(BC)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.(BE)

20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors(BF) behind you;
hide(BG) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath(BH) has passed by.(BI)
21 See, the Lord is coming(BJ) out of his dwelling(BK)
    to punish(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(BM) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
  2. Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

26 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

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

The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

13 O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

16 Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.