Isaiah 26
26
Judah’s Praise and Prayer for Deliverance.#This text is a mixture of praise for the salvation that will take place, a confession of Judah’s inability to achieve deliverance on its own, and earnest prayer that God may quickly bring about the longed-for salvation. 1On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah:
“A strong city#Strong city: Jerusalem, the antithesis of the “city of chaos” (24:10); see note on 24:1–27:13. have we;
he sets up victory as our walls and ramparts.#Is 60:18.
2Open up the gates
that a righteous nation may enter,
one that keeps faith.#Ps 118:19–20.
3With firm purpose you maintain peace;
in peace, because of our trust in you.”#Is 32:17–18; Ps 112:7.
4Trust in the Lord forever!
For the Lord is an eternal Rock.#Is 17:10; 30:29; Ps 62:8.
5He humbles those who dwell on high,
the lofty city he brings down,
Brings it down to the ground,
levels it to the dust.#Is 25:11–12; 32:19.
6The feet of the needy trample on it—
the feet of the poor.
7The way of the just is smooth;
the path of the just you make level.#Ps 23:3–4; Prv 11:3, 5.
8The course of your judgments, Lord, we await;
your name and your memory are the desire of our souls.
9My soul yearns for you at night,
yes, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn;
When your judgment comes upon the earth,
the world’s inhabitants learn justice.#Ps 63:2.
10The wicked, when spared, do not learn justice;
in an upright land they act perversely,
and do not see the majesty of the Lord.#Is 5:12; Eccl 8:11.
11Lord, your hand is raised high,
but they do not perceive it;
Let them be put to shame when they see your zeal for your people:
let the fire prepared for your enemies consume them.#Is 9:6; 30:27; 37:32.
12Lord, you will decree peace for us,
for you have accomplished all we have done.#Jer 29:11; Phil 2:13.
13Lord, our God, lords other than you have ruled us;
only because of you can we call upon your name.
14Dead they are, they cannot live,
shades that cannot rise;
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them,
and wiped out all memory of them.
15You have increased the nation, Lord,
you have increased the nation, have added to your glory,
you have extended far all the boundaries of the land.#Is 54:2–3.
16Lord, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your discipline.#Hos 5:15.
17As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in pain,
so were we before you, Lord.#Mi 4:10.
18We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth only to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
no inhabitants for the world were born.#Is 37:3.
19#This verse refers not to resurrection of the dead, but to the restoration of the people; cf. Ez 37. The population of Judah was radically reduced by the slaughter and deportations that the historical disasters of the late eighth and seventh centuries B.C. brought upon the country. In this context, a major concern for the future was for an increase in the population, a rebirth of the nation’s life. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise!
Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and you cause the land of shades to give birth.#Ez 37:5–14; Dn 12:2; Hos 6:2.
The Lord’s Response#The time of wrath for Judah would soon be over, and the just punishment of its enemies would begin (cf. Hb 2:1–3).
20Go, my people, enter your chambers,
and close the doors behind you;
Hide yourselves for a brief moment,
until the wrath is past.#Is 10:25.
21See, the Lord goes forth from his place,
to punish the wickedness of the earth’s inhabitants;
The earth will reveal the blood shed upon it,
and no longer conceal the slain.#Gn 4:10; Jb 16:18; Ps 106:38; Mi 1:3.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America