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. (Isa 27:2; Isa 60:18)2Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. (Ps 118:19)3You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa 30:15)4Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.5For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. (Isa 25:12)6The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.” (Isa 25:4)7The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. (1Sa 2:9; Ps 37:23)8In the path of your judgments, O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. (Ex 3:15)9My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. (2Ch 33:12; Isa 26:16)10If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord. (Ps 73:3)11O Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. (Ps 21:9; Isa 5:12; Isa 33:14; Mic 5:9)12O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. (Isa 9:7; Mic 5:5)13O Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone we bring to remembrance. (2Ki 16:3; 2Ki 18:4; Ps 20:7; Isa 2:8; Isa 2:20)14They are dead, they will not live; they are shades, they will not arise; to that end you have visited them with destruction and wiped out all remembrance of them.15But you have increased the nation, O Lord, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have enlarged all the borders of the land. (Isa 9:3; Isa 54:2)16O Lord, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered prayer when your discipline was upon them. (Isa 37:1; Ho 5:15)17Like a pregnant woman who writhes and cries out in her pangs when she is near to giving birth, so were we because of you, O Lord; (Isa 13:8)18we were pregnant, we writhed, but we have given birth to wind. We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth, and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen. (Isa 26:17)19Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. (Eze 37:12; Da 12:2; Ho 13:14; Ho 14:5)20Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by. (Isa 10:25)21For behold, the Lord is coming out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity, and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no more cover its slain. (Isa 24:5; Mic 1:3)
Isaiah 26
New International Version
A song of praise
1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts.2Open the gates that the righteous nation may enter, the nation that keeps faith.3You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.4Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.5He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust.6Feet trample it down – the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.7The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.8Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,[1] we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.9My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.10But when grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of the Lord.11Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.12Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.13Lord our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us, but your name alone do we honour.14They are now dead, they live no more; their spirits do not rise. You punished them and brought them to ruin; you wiped out all memory of them.15You have enlarged the nation, Lord; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.16Lord, they came to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.[2]17As a pregnant woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, Lord.18We were with child, we writhed in labour, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.19But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise – let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy – your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by.21See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.
Isaiah 26
King James Version
1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee : because he trusteth in thee.4Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:5For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth 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: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.10Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.11LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.12LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.13O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.14They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.15Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.16LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.17Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.18We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.20Come, 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 be overpast.21For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Isaiah 26
New International Reader’s Version
Another song of praise
1At that time a song will be sung in the land of Judah. It will say, ‘We have a strong city. God’s saving power surrounds it like walls and towers.2Open its gates so that those who do what is right can enter. They are the people who remain faithful to God.3LORD, you will give perfect peace to those who commit themselves to be faithful to you. That’s because they trust in you.4‘Trust in the LORD for ever. The LORD himself is the Rock. The LORD will keep us safe for ever.5He brings down those who are proud. He pulls down cities that have high walls. They fall down flat on the ground. He throws them down to the dust.6The feet of those who were treated badly trample on them. Those who were poor walk all over them.’7The path of godly people is level. You are the God who does what is right. You make their way smooth.8LORD, we are living the way your laws command us to live. We are waiting for you to act. We want your honour and fame to be known.9My heart longs for you at night. My spirit longs for you in the morning. You will come and judge the earth. Then the people of the world will learn to do what is right.10Sometimes grace is shown to sinful people. But they still don’t learn to do what is right. They keep on doing evil even in a land where others are honest and fair. They don’t have any respect for the majesty of the LORD.11LORD, you have raised your hand high to punish them. But they don’t even see it. Let them see how much you love your people. Then they will be put to shame. Let the fire you are saving for your enemies burn them up.12LORD, you give us peace. You are the one who has done everything we’ve accomplished.13LORD, you are our God. Other masters besides you have ruled over us. But your name is the only one we honour.14Those other masters are now dead. They will never live again. Their spirits won’t rise from the dead. You punished them and destroyed them. You wiped out all memory of them.15LORD, you have made our nation grow. You have made it larger. You have gained glory for yourself. You have increased the size of our land.16LORD, when your people were suffering, they came to you. When you punished them, they could barely whisper a prayer.17LORD, you made us like a woman who is about to have a baby. She groans and cries out in pain.18We were pregnant and groaned with pain. But nothing was born. We didn’t bring your saving power to the earth. And the people of the world have not come to life.19LORD, your people who have died will live again. Their bodies will rise from the dead. Let those who lie in the grave wake up and shout for joy. You give life, LORD, like the dew of the morning. So the earth will give up its dead people.20My people, go into your houses. Shut the doors behind you. Hide yourselves for a little while. Do it until the LORD’s anger is over.21He is coming from the place where he lives. He will punish the people of the earth for their sins. The blood spilled on the earth will be brought out into the open. The ground will no longer hide those who have been killed.