Isaiah 26:1–21
26 In athat day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
bGod will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2 cOpen the gates,
That the righteous nation which 1keeps the truth may enter in.
3 You will keep him in perfect dpeace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
eFor in Yah, the Lord, is 2everlasting strength.
5 For He brings 3down those who dwell on high,
fThe lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
6 The foot shall 4tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”
7 The way of the just is uprightness;
gO Most Upright,
You 5weigh the path of the just.
8 Yes, hin the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have iwaited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
9 jWith my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 kLet grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In lthe land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, mthey will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For 6their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.
12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works 7in us.
13 O Lord our God, nmasters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to operish.
15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have pincreased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the 8borders of the land.
16 Lord, qin trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
17 As ra woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her 9pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, 1brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have sthe inhabitants of the world fallen.
19 tYour dead shall live;
Together with 2my dead body they shall arise.
uAwake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment
20 Come, my people, venter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, wfor a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the Lord xcomes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her 3blood,
And will no more cover her slain.