Isaiah 26

Chapter 26

Song of Trust in God’s Protection

^1aIn that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a ^bstrong city;

He sets up walls and ramparts for ^1csecurity.

²“Open the ^agates, that the ^brighteous nation may enter,

The one that ¹remains faithful.

³“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect ^apeace,

Because he trusts in You.

⁴“^aTrust in the Lord forever,

For in ¹God the Lord, we have an everlasting ^bRock.

⁵“For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the ^aunassailable city;

^bHe lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

⁶“^aThe foot will trample it,

The feet of the ^bafflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

⁷The ^away of the righteous is smooth;

O Upright One, ^bmake the path of the righteous level.

⁸Indeed, while following the way of ^aYour judgments, O Lord,

We have waited for You eagerly;

^bYour name, even Your ^cmemory, is the desire of our souls.

^9aAt night ¹my soul longs for You,

Indeed, ²my spirit within me ^bseeks You diligently;

For when the earth ³experiences Your judgments

The inhabitants of the world ^clearn righteousness.

¹⁰Though the wicked is shown favor,

He does not ^alearn righteousness;

He ^bdeals unjustly in the land of uprightness,

And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.

¹¹O Lord, Your hand is lifted up yet they ^ado not see it.

¹They see ^bYour zeal for the people and are put to shame;

Indeed, ^2cfire will devour Your enemies.

¹²Lord, You will establish ^apeace for us,

Since You have also performed for us all our works.

¹³O Lord our God, ^aother masters besides You have ruled us;

But through You alone we ^1bconfess Your name.

^14aThe dead will not live, the ¹departed spirits will not rise;

Therefore You have ^bpunished and destroyed them,

And You have wiped out all remembrance of them.

^15aYou have increased the nation, O Lord,

You have increased the nation, You are glorified;

You have ^bextended all the borders of the land.

¹⁶O Lord, they sought You ^ain distress;

They ¹could only whisper a prayer,

Your chastening was upon them.

^17aAs the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,

She writhes and cries out in her labor pains,

Thus were we before You, O Lord.

¹⁸We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,

We ^agave birth, as it seems, only to wind.

We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,

Nor were ^binhabitants of the world ¹born.

¹⁹Your ^adead will live;

¹Their corpses will rise.

You who lie in the dust, ^bawake and shout for joy,

For your dew is as the dew of the ²dawn,

And the earth will ³give birth to the ⁴departed spirits.

²⁰Come, my people, ^aenter into your rooms

And close your doors behind you;

Hide for a little ^1bwhile

Until ^cindignation ²runs its course.

²¹For behold, the Lord is about to ^acome out from His place

To ^bpunish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

And the earth will ^creveal her bloodshed

And will no longer cover her slain.