Isaiah 26
26
1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
he sets up salvation
as walls and bulwarks.
2Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith
may enter in.
3Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.
4Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord God
is an everlasting rock.
5For he has brought low
the inhabitants of the height,
the lofty city.
He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,
casts it to the dust.
6The foot tramples it,
the feet of the poor,
the steps of the needy.”
7The way of the righteous is level;
thou#26.7 Cn Compare Gk: Heb thou (that art) upright dost make smooth the path of the righteous.
8In the path of thy judgments,
O Lord, we wait for thee;
thy memorial name
is the desire of our soul.
9My soul yearns for thee in the night,
my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee.
For when thy judgments are in the earth,
the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10If favor is shown to the wicked,
he does not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness he deals perversely
and does not see the majesty of the Lord.
11O Lord, thy hand is lifted up,
but they see it not.
Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed.
Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.
12O Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us,
thou hast wrought for us all our works.
13O Lord our God,
other lords besides thee have ruled over us,
but thy name alone we acknowledge.
14They are dead, they will not live;
they are shades, they will not arise;
to that end thou hast visited them with destruction
and wiped out all remembrance of them.
15But thou hast increased the nation, O Lord,
thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified;
thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.
16O Lord, in distress they sought thee,
they poured out a prayer#26.16 Heb uncertain
when thy chastening was upon them.
17Like a woman with child,
who writhes and cries out in her pangs,
when she is near her time,
so were we because of thee, O Lord;
18we were with child, we writhed,
we have as it were brought forth wind.
We have wrought no deliverance in the earth,
and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.
19Thy dead shall live, their bodies#26.19 Cn Compare Syr Tg: Heb my body shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
20Come, my people, enter your chambers,
and shut your doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until the wrath is past.
21For behold, the Lord is coming forth out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,
and the earth will disclose the blood shed upon her,
and will no more cover her slain.
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Isaiah 26: RSV
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Isaiah 26
26
A Song of Victory
1The time is coming when the people of Judah will sing this song:
“Our city#26.1 city: Probably Jerusalem. is protected.
The Lord is our fortress,
and he gives us victory.
2Open the city gates
for a law-abiding nation
that is faithful to God.
3The Lord gives perfect peace
to those whose faith is firm.
4So always trust the Lord
because he is forever
our mighty rock.#26.4 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
5God has put down our enemies
in their mountain city#26.5 our enemies … city: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and rubbed it in the dirt.
6Now the poor and abused
trample all over that city.”
The Lord Can Be Trusted
7Our Lord, you always do right,
and you make the path smooth
for those who obey you.
8You are the one we trust
to bring about justice;
above all else we want
your name to be honored.
9Throughout the night,
my heart searches for you,
because your decisions
show everyone on this earth
how to live right.
10Even when the wicked
are treated with mercy
in this land of justice,
they do wrong and are blind
to your glory, our Lord.
11 #
He 10.27. Your hand is raised and ready
to punish them,
but they don't see it.
Put them to shame!
Show how much you care for us
and throw them into the fire
intended for your enemies.
12You will give us peace, Lord,
because everything we have done
was by your power.
13Others have ruled over us
besides you, our Lord God,
but we obey only you.
14Those enemies are now dead
and can never live again.
You have punished them—
they are destroyed,
completely forgotten.
15Our nation has grown
because of you, our Lord.
We have more land than before,
and you are honored.
The Lord Gives Life to the Dead
16When you punished our people,
they turned and prayed
to you, our Lord.#26.16 Lord: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 16.
17Because of what you did to us,
we suffered like a woman
about to give birth.
18But instead of having a child,
our terrible pain
produced only wind.
We have won no victories,
and we have no descendants
to take over the earth.
19Your people will rise to life!
Tell them to leave their graves
and celebrate with shouts.
You refresh the earth
like morning dew;
you give life to the dead.
20Go inside and lock the doors,
my people.
Hide there for a little while,
until the Lord
is no longer angry.
The Earth and the Sea Will Be Punished
21The Lord will come out
to punish everyone on earth
for their sins.
And when he does,
those who did violent crimes
will be known and punished.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.