Isaiah 26:16–27:6

¹⁶You punished your people, Lord,

and in anguish they prayed to you.^o

¹⁷You, Lord, have made us cry out,

as a woman in labour cries out in pain.

¹⁸We were in pain and agony,

but we gave birth to nothing.

We have won no victory for our land;

we have accomplished nothing.^p

¹⁹Those of our people who have died will live again!

Their bodies will come back to life.

All those sleeping in their graves

will wake up and sing for joy.

As the sparkling dew refreshes the earth,

so the Lord will revive those who have long been dead.

Judgement and Restoration

²⁰Go into your houses, my people, and shut the door behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while until God’s anger is over. ²¹The Lord is coming from his heavenly dwelling place to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The murders that were secretly committed on the earth will be revealed, and the ground will no longer hide those who have been killed.

27^*On that day the Lord will use his powerful and deadly sword to punish Leviathan, that wriggling, twisting dragon, and to kill the monster^q that lives in the sea.

²On that day the Lord will say of his pleasant vineyard, ³“I watch over it and water it continually. I guard it night and day so that no one will harm it. ⁴I am no longer angry with the vineyard. If only there were thorns and briars to fight against, then I would burn them up completely. ⁵But if the enemies of my people want my protection, let them make peace with me. Yes, let them make peace with me.”

⁶In days to come the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, will take root like a tree, and they will blossom and bud. The earth will be covered with the fruit they produce.