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26 ¶ In that day they shall sing this song in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; God has appointed saving health for walls and bulwarks.

Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee.

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in JAH, the LORD is the strength of the ages:

¶ For he has brought down those that dwelt on high; he has humbled the lofty city; he humbled her, even to the ground; he brought her down even to the dust.

The foot shall tread her down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, we wait for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name and to the remembrance of thee.

With my soul I desire thee in the night; yea, even as long as the spirit is within me I will seek thee early: for as long as thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10 Let favour be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

11 LORD, when thy hand is withdrawn, they will not see: but they shall see in the end and be ashamed with the zeal of the people. And fire shall consume thine enemies.

12 ¶ LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought in us all our works.

13 O LORD our God, other lords have had dominion over us without thee: but in thee only will we remember thy name.

14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise because thou hast visited and destroyed them and made all their memory to perish.

15 Thou hast added the Gentiles, O LORD, thou hast added the Gentiles: thou hast made thyself glorious: thou hast extended thyself unto all the ends of the earth.

16 LORD, in the tribulation they have sought thee, they poured out prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17 Like as a woman with child, that draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and cries out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

18 We have conceived, we have had birth pangs; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not wrought any health in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 Thy dead shall live, and together with my body they shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the covering of light, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20 ¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment until the indignation is overpast.

21 For, behold, the LORD comes out of his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against himself: the earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no longer cover her slain.

A Song of Praise

26 In that day(A) this song will be sung(B) in the land of Judah:

We have a strong city;(C)
    God makes salvation
    its walls(D) and ramparts.(E)
Open the gates(F)
    that the righteous(G) nation may enter,
    the nation that keeps faith.
You will keep in perfect peace(H)
    those whose minds are steadfast,
    because they trust(I) in you.
Trust(J) in the Lord forever,(K)
    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock(L) eternal.
He humbles those who dwell on high,
    he lays the lofty city low;
he levels it to the ground(M)
    and casts it down to the dust.(N)
Feet trample(O) it down—
    the feet of the oppressed,(P)
    the footsteps of the poor.(Q)

The path of the righteous is level;(R)
    you, the Upright One,(S) make the way of the righteous smooth.(T)
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[a](U)
    we wait(V) for you;
your name(W) and renown
    are the desire of our hearts.
My soul yearns for you in the night;(X)
    in the morning my spirit longs(Y) for you.
When your judgments(Z) come upon the earth,
    the people of the world learn righteousness.(AA)
10 But when grace is shown to the wicked,(AB)
    they do not learn righteousness;
even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil(AC)
    and do not regard(AD) the majesty of the Lord.
11 Lord, your hand is lifted high,(AE)
    but they do not see(AF) it.
Let them see your zeal(AG) for your people and be put to shame;(AH)
    let the fire(AI) reserved for your enemies consume them.

12 Lord, you establish peace(AJ) for us;
    all that we have accomplished you have done(AK) for us.
13 Lord our God, other lords(AL) besides you have ruled over us,
    but your name(AM) alone do we honor.(AN)
14 They are now dead,(AO) they live no more;
    their spirits(AP) do not rise.
You punished them and brought them to ruin;(AQ)
    you wiped out all memory of them.(AR)
15 You have enlarged the nation, Lord;
    you have enlarged the nation.(AS)
You have gained glory for yourself;
    you have extended all the borders(AT) of the land.

16 Lord, they came to you in their distress;(AU)
    when you disciplined(AV) them,
    they could barely whisper(AW) a prayer.[b]
17 As a pregnant woman about to give birth(AX)
    writhes and cries out in her pain,
    so were we in your presence, Lord.
18 We were with child, we writhed in labor,
    but we gave birth(AY) to wind.
We have not brought salvation(AZ) to the earth,
    and the people of the world have not come to life.(BA)

19 But your dead(BB) will live, Lord;
    their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust(BC)
    wake up and shout for joy—
your dew(BD) is like the dew of the morning;
    the earth will give birth to her dead.(BE)

20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
    and shut the doors(BF) behind you;
hide(BG) yourselves for a little while
    until his wrath(BH) has passed by.(BI)
21 See, the Lord is coming(BJ) out of his dwelling(BK)
    to punish(BL) the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood(BM) shed on it;
    the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 26:8 Or judgments
  2. Isaiah 26:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.