Isaiah 26
26
Stretch the Borders of Life
1-6At that time, this song
will be sung in the country of Judah:
We have a strong city, Salvation City,
built and fortified with salvation.
Throw wide the gates
so good and true people can enter.
People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Depend on God and keep at it
because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.
Those who lived high and mighty
he knocked off their high horse.
He used the city built on the hill
as fill for the marshes.
All the exploited and outcast peoples
build their lives on the reclaimed land.
7-10The path of right-living people is level.
The Leveler evens the road for the right-living.
We’re in no hurry, God. We’re content to linger
in the path sign-posted with your decisions.
Who you are and what you’ve done
are all we’ll ever want.
Through the night my soul longs for you.
Deep from within me my spirit reaches out to you.
When your decisions are on public display,
everyone learns how to live right.
If the wicked are shown grace,
they don’t seem to get it.
In the land of right living, they persist in wrong living,
blind to the splendor of God.
11-15You hold your hand up high, God,
but they don’t see it.
Open their eyes to what you do,
to see your zealous love for your people.
Shame them. Light a fire under them.
Get the attention of these enemies of yours.
God, order a peaceful and whole life for us
because everything we’ve done, you’ve done for us.
O God, our God, we’ve had other masters rule us,
but you’re the only Master we’ve ever known.
The dead don’t talk,
ghosts don’t walk,
Because you’ve said, “Enough—that’s all for you,”
and wiped them off the books.
But the living you make larger than life.
The more life you give, the more glory you display,
and stretch the borders to accommodate more living!
16-18O God, they begged you for help when they were in trouble,
when your discipline was so heavy
they could barely whisper a prayer.
Like a woman having a baby,
writhing in distress, screaming her pain
as the baby is being born,
That’s how we were because of you, O God.
We were pregnant full-term.
We writhed in labor but bore no baby.
We gave birth to wind.
Nothing came of our labor.
We produced nothing living.
We couldn’t save the world.
19But friends, your dead will live,
your corpses will get to their feet.
All you dead and buried,
wake up! Sing!
Your dew is morning dew
catching the first rays of sun,
The earth bursting with life,
giving birth to the dead.
20-21Come, my people, go home
and shut yourselves in.
Go into seclusion for a while
until the punishing wrath is past,
Because God is sure to come from his place
to punish the wrong of the people on earth.
Earth itself will point out the bloodstains;
it will show where the murdered have been hidden away.
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Isaiah 26: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
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.