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.
God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks.
2Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter:
the one which keeps faith.
3You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace,
because he trusts in you.
4Trust in Yahweh forever;
for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock.
5For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city.
He lays it low.
He lays it low even to the ground.
He brings it even to the dust.
6The foot shall tread it down,
even the feet of the poor
and the steps of the needy.”
7The way of the just is uprightness.
You who are upright make the path of the righteous level.
8Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, we have waited for you.
Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul.
9With my soul I have desired you in the night.
Yes, with my spirit within me I will seek you earnestly;
for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10Let favor be shown to the wicked,
yet he will not learn righteousness.
In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully,
and will not see Yahweh’s majesty.
11Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see;
but they will see your zeal for the people and be disappointed.
Yes, fire will consume your adversaries.
12Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us,
for you have also done all our work for us.
13Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us,
but we will only acknowledge your name.
14The dead shall not live.
The departed spirits shall not rise.
Therefore you have visited and destroyed them,
and caused all memory of them to perish.
15You have increased the nation, O Yahweh.
You have increased the nation!
You are glorified!
You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
16Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you.
They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them.
17Just as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery,
is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
so we have been before you, Yahweh.
18We have been with child.
We have been in pain.
We gave birth, it seems, only to wind.
We have not worked any deliverance in the earth;
neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
19Your dead shall live.
Their dead bodies shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust;
for your dew is like the dew of herbs,
and the earth will cast out the departed spirits.
20Come, my people, enter into your rooms,
and shut your doors behind you.
Hide yourself for a little moment,
until the indignation is past.
21For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
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