Isaiah 26

1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks.

1On that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; God sets up salvation like walls and outer defenses.

2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in.

2Open the gates so that the righteous nation, the one that stays faithful, may enter.

3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.

3You will keep the person in perfect peace whose mind is focused on you, because they trust in you.

4Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an everlasting rock.

4Trust in the LORD forever, because the LORD, the LORD himself, is the eternal Rock.

5For he hath brought 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.

5He humbles those who live in high places and brings down the proud city; he levels it to the ground and throws it into the dust.

6The foot shall tread it down; even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

6The feet of the poor and the steps of the needy will trample it down.

7The way of the just is uprightness: thou that art upright dost direct the path of the just.

7The path of the righteous is smooth; you, who are upright, make the way of the righteous level.

8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial name, is the desire of our soul.

8Yes, LORD, we wait for you along the path of your laws; our hearts long for your name and your renown.

9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

9My soul longs for you in the night; my spirit within me searches for you. For when your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn what is right.

10Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah.

10Even if mercy is shown to the wicked, they do not learn to do right; even in a land of honesty they keep doing evil and ignore the majesty of the LORD.

11Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall seethyzeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries.

11LORD, your hand is lifted up to punish, but they do not see it. Let them see your passion for your people and be ashamed; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.

12Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou hast also wrought all our works for us.

12LORD, you grant us peace, because everything we have accomplished, you have actually done for us.

13O Jehovah our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

13LORD our God, other masters besides you have ruled over us, but we acknowledge your name alone.

14They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish.

14Those other masters are now dead; they will not live again. They are departed spirits; they will not rise. You have punished and destroyed them, wiping out every memory of them.

15Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land.

15You have made the nation grow, LORD; you have made the nation grow and gained glory for yourself. You have extended all the borders of the land.

16Jehovah, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

16LORD, they turned to you in their distress; when you disciplined them, they could only whisper a prayer.

17Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so we have been before thee, O Jehovah.

17Like a pregnant woman about to give birth cries out in her pain, so were we in your presence, 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.

18We were pregnant, we suffered pain, but we only gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and no new inhabitants were born into the world.

19Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.

19But your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who live 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.

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

20Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his anger has passed by.

21For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth 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.

21Look, the LORD is coming out from his place to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will reveal the blood shed upon it and will no longer hide its dead.