Bible Gateway passage: Isaiah 26 - New King James Version (2024)

A Song of Salvation

26In ^(A)that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
^(B)God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
^2(C)Open the gates,
That the righteous nation which ^[a]keeps the truth may enter in.
³You will keep him in perfect ^(D)peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
⁴Trust in the Lord forever,
^(E)For in Yah, the Lord, is ^[b]everlasting strength.
⁵For He brings ^[c]down those who dwell on high,
^(F)The lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.
⁶The foot shall ^[d]tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”

⁷The way of the just is uprightness;
^(G)O Most Upright,
You ^[e]weigh the path of the just.
⁸Yes, ^(H)in the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have ^(I)waited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.
^9(J)With my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

^10(K)Let grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In ^(L)the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.
¹¹Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, ^(M)they will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For ^[f]their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

¹²Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works ^[g]in us.
¹³O Lord our God, ^(N)masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
¹⁴They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to ^(O)perish.
¹⁵You have increased the nation, O Lord,
You have ^(P)increased the nation;
You are glorified;
You have expanded all the ^[h]borders of the land.

¹⁶Lord, ^(Q)in trouble they have visited You,
They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
¹⁷As ^(R)a woman with child
Is in pain and cries out in her ^[i]pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery,
So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.
¹⁸We have been with child, we have been in pain;
We have, as it were, ^[j]brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have ^(S)the inhabitants of the world fallen.

^19(T)Your dead shall live;
Together with ^[k]my dead body they shall arise.
^(U)Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

²⁰Come, my people, ^(V)enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, ^(W)for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
²¹For behold, the Lord ^(X)comes out of His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her ^[l]blood,
And will no more cover her slain.