Isaiah 26

Isaiah 26

Judah’s Song of Victory

1On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:[#Isa 4.2; 12.1; 14.31; 60.18]

We have a strong city;

he sets up walls and bulwarks as a safeguard.

2Open the gates,[#Isa 60.11, 18; 61.3; 62.1, 2]

so that the righteous nation that maintains faithfulness

may enter in.

3Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace,

in peace because they trust in you.

4Trust in the Lord forever,[#Isa 12.2; 17.10]

for in the Lord God

you have an everlasting rock.

5For he has brought low[#Job 40.11–13; Isa 25.12]

the inhabitants of the height;

the lofty city he lays low.

He lays it low to the ground,

casts it to the dust.

6The foot tramples it,[#Isa 3.14, 15; 28.3]

the feet of the poor,

the steps of the needy.

7The way of the righteous is level;[#Isa 42.16; 57.2]

straight is the path of the righteous that you clear.

8In the path of your judgments,[#v 13 ; Ex 3.15; Isa 51.4; 56.1]

O Lord , we have placed hope;

your name and your renown

are the soul’s desire.

9My soul yearns for you in the night;[#Ps 63.6; Isa 55.6; Hos 5.15]

my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10If favor is shown to the wicked,[#Isa 22.12, 13; Hos 11.7; Jn 5.37, 38; Rom 2.4]

they do not learn righteousness;

they corrupt what is upright on the earth

and do not see the majesty of the Lord .

11O Lord , your hand is lifted up,[#Isa 5.12; 9.7; 10.17; 66.15, 24]

but they do not see it.

Let them see your zeal for your people and be ashamed.

Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.

12O Lord , may you ordain peace for us,[#v 3 ; Isa 64.8]

for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.

13O Lord our God,[#Isa 2.8; 10.11; 63.7]

other lords besides you have ruled over us,

but we acknowledge your name alone.

14The dead do not live;[#Isa 8.19; 10.3; Hab 2.19]

shades do not rise

because you have punished and destroyed them

and wiped out all memory of them.

15But you have increased the nation, O Lord ;[#Isa 9.3; 33.17]

you have increased the nation; you are glorified;

you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

16O Lord , in distress they sought you;[#Hos 5.15]

they poured out a prayer

when your chastening was on them.

17Like a woman with child[#Isa 13.8; Jn 16.21]

about to give birth

writhes and cries out in her pain,

so were we because of you, O Lord ;

18we were with child; we writhed,[#Ps 17.14; Isa 33.11]

but we gave birth only to wind.

We have won no victories on earth,

and no one is born to inhabit the world.

19Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.[#Ezek 37.1–14; Dan 12.2; #26.19 Cn Compare Syr Tg: Heb my corpse]

Those who dwell in the dust will awake and shout for joy!

For your dew is a radiant dew,

and the earth will give birth to those long dead.

20Come, my people, enter your chambers,[#Ex 12.22, 23; Ps 30.5; Isa 54.7, 8; 2 Cor 4.17]

and shut your doors behind you;

hide yourselves for a little while

until the wrath is past.

21For the Lord comes out from his place[#Job 16.18; Isa 13.11; Mic 1.3; Jude 14]

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

the earth will disclose the blood shed on it

and will no longer cover its slain.

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by: National Council of the Churches of Christ