Isaiah 26

The Song of Judah

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

We have a strong city.

Salvation is established as walls and ramparts. ^a

²Open the gates

so a righteous nation can come in —

one that remains faithful.

³You will keep the mind that is dependent on you

in perfect peace, ^b

for it is trusting in you.

⁴Trust in the Lord forever,

because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock! ^c

⁵For he has humbled those who live in lofty places —

an inaccessible city. ^d

He brings it down; he brings it down to the ground;

he throws it to the dust.

⁶Feet trample it,

the feet of the humble,

the steps of the poor.

God’s People Vindicated

⁷The path of the righteous is level; ^e

you clear a straight path for the righteous.

⁸Yes, Lord, we wait for you

in the path of your judgments.

Our desire is for your name and renown. ^f

⁹I long for you in the night; ^g

yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you,

for when your judgments are in the land,

the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

¹⁰But if the wicked man is shown favor,

he does not learn righteousness.

In a righteous land he acts unjustly

and does not see the majesty of the Lord.

¹¹Lord, your hand is lifted up to take action,

but they do not see it.

Let them see your zeal for your people

and be put to shame.

Let fire consume your adversaries.

¹²Lord, you will establish peace for us,

for you have also done all our work for us.

¹³Lord our God, lords other than you have owned ^h us,

but we remember your name alone. ⁱ

¹⁴The dead do not live;

departed spirits do not rise up.

Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them;

you have wiped out all memory of them. ^j

¹⁵You have added to the nation, Lord. ^k

You have added to the nation; you are honored.

You have expanded all the borders of the land. ^l

¹⁶Lord, they went to you in their distress; ^m

they poured out whispered prayers

because your discipline fell on them. ⁿ

¹⁷As a pregnant woman about to give birth

writhes and cries out in her pains, ^o

so we were before you, Lord.

¹⁸We became pregnant, we writhed in pain;

we gave birth to wind.

We have won no victories on earth,

and the earth’s inhabitants have not fallen.

¹⁹Your dead will live; their bodies ^p will rise. ^q

Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust!

For you will be covered with the morning dew, ^r

and the earth will bring out the departed spirits.

²⁰Go, my people, enter your rooms

and close your doors behind you.

Hide for a little while until the wrath has passed. ^s

²¹For look, the Lord is coming from his place ^t

to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. ^u

The earth will reveal the blood shed on it

and will no longer conceal her slain.