Song of Trust in God’s Protection
1 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that (a)remains faithful and trustworthy.
3
4
“Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],
For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
5
“For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust.
6
“The foot will trample it,
Even the feet of the suffering, and the steps of the helpless.”
“We have a strong city;
He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts.
2 He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts.
“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that (a)remains faithful and trustworthy.
“Trust [confidently] in the Lord forever [He is your fortress, your shield, your banner],
For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages].
“For He has thrown down the [arrogant] ones who dwell on high, the lofty and inaccessible city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He hurls it to the dust.
“The foot will trample it,
Even the feet of the suffering, and the steps of the helpless.”
7
The way of the righteous [those in right-standing with God—living in moral and spiritual integrity] is smooth and level;
O Upright One, make a level path for the just and righteous.
8
Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord,
We have waited expectantly for You;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.
9
In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth
Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10
Though the wicked is shown compassion and favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he deals unjustly,
And refuses to see the majesty of the Lord.
The way of the righteous [those in right-standing with God—living in moral and spiritual integrity] is smooth and level;
O Upright One, make a level path for the just and righteous.
Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord,
We have waited expectantly for You;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.
In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earth
Will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Though the wicked is shown compassion and favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
In the land of uprightness he deals unjustly,
And refuses to see the majesty of the Lord.
11
Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O Lord, the wicked do not see it.
Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;
Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.
12
Lord, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.
13
O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;
But through You alone we confess Your name.
14
The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them].
15
You have increased the nation, O Lord;
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
16
O Lord, they sought You in distress;
They managed only a prayerful whisper
When Your discipline was upon them.
17
As a woman with child approaches the time to give birth,
She is in pain and struggles and cries out in her labor,
So we were before You, O Lord.
18
We have been with child, we have twisted and struggled in labor;
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world (d)born.
19
Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O Lord, the wicked do not see it.
Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;
Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.
Lord, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.
O Lord our God, other masters besides You have ruled over us;
But through You alone we confess Your name.
The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them].
You have increased the nation, O Lord;
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
O Lord, they sought You in distress;
They managed only a prayerful whisper
When Your discipline was upon them.
As a woman with child approaches the time to give birth,
She is in pain and struggles and cries out in her labor,
So we were before You, O Lord.
We have been with child, we have twisted and struggled in labor;
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world (d)born.
20
Come, my people, enter your chambers
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until the [Lord’s] (f)wrath is past.
21
Listen carefully, the Lord is about to come out of His [heavenly] place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
The earth will reveal the [innocent] blood shed upon her
And will no longer cover her slain.
Come, my people, enter your chambers
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide for a little while
Until the [Lord’s] (f)wrath is past.
Listen carefully, the Lord is about to come out of His [heavenly] place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];
The earth will reveal the [innocent] blood shed upon her
And will no longer cover her slain.
Footnotes:
a.
Isaiah 26:2: Lit keeps trustworthiness.
b.
Isaiah 26:3: Lit peace, peace, a Hebrew idiom of emphasis.
c.
Isaiah 26:3: The Hebrew word for inclination became a technical term in Jewish tradition, and the rabbis frequently referred to the “evil inclination” much in the same sense as the sin nature. They also recognized a “good inclination,” which the righteous choose to follow, and urged people to make their good inclination king over the evil inclination.
d.
Isaiah 26:18: Lit fallen.
e.
Isaiah 26:19: So with some ancient versions; MT reads My dead body.
f.
Isaiah 26:20: Lit curse.