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
English Standard Version
You Keep Him in Perfect Peace
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)