Isaiah 26

¹In that day shall this canticle be sung in the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a saviour, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein.

²Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in.

³The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.

⁴You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.

⁵For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.

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

⁷The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in.

⁸And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul.

⁹My soul hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee. When thou shalt do thy judgments on the earth, the inhabitants of the world shall learn justice.

¹⁰Let us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord.

¹¹Lord, let thy hand be exalted, and let them not see: let the envious people see, and be confounded: and let fire devour thy enemies.

¹²Lord, thou wilt give us peace: for thou hast wrought all our works for us.

¹³O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us, only in thee let us remember thy name.

¹⁴Let not the dead live, let not the giants rise again: therefore hast visited and destroyed them, and hast destroyed all their memory.

¹⁵Thou hast been favourable to the nation, O Lord, thou hast been favourable to the nation: art thou glorified? thou hast removed all the ends of the earth far off.

¹⁶Lord, they have sought after thee in distress, in the tribulation of murmuring thy instruction was with them.

¹⁷As a woman with child, when she draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs: so are we become in thy presence, O Lord.

¹⁸We have conceived, and been as it were in labour, and have brought forth wind: we have not wrought salvation on the earth, therefore the inhabitants of the earth have not fallen.

¹⁹Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

²⁰Go, my people, enter into thy chambers, shut thy doors upon thee, hide thyself a little for a moment, until the indignation pass away.

²¹For behold the Lord will come out of his place, to visit the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth against him: and the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall cover her slain no more.

Isaiah 26

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.