26:1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for ①security.
▷ ①Or salvation
26:2 Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that ①remains faithful.
▷ ①Lit keeps faithfulness
26:3 The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
26:4 Trust in the LORD forever,
For in ①GOD the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.
▷ ①Heb YAH, usually rendered LORD
26:5 For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
26:6 The foot will trample it,
The feet of the poor, the steps of the helpless.”
26:7 The way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
26:8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, LORD,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, and remembering You, is the desire of our souls.
26:9 At night ①my soul longs for You,
Indeed, ②my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth ③experiences Your judgments,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
▷ ①Lit with my soul I long ②Lit with my spirit...I seek ③Lit has
26:10 Though the wicked person is shown compassion,
He does not learn righteousness;
He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the LORD.
26:11 LORD, Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it.
①They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame;
Indeed, ②fire will devour Your enemies.
▷ ①Or Let them see...and be ②Or let the fire for Your adversaries devour them
26:12 LORD, You will establish peace for us,
Since You have also performed for us all our works.
26:13 LORD, our God, other masters besides You have ruled us;
But through You alone we ①confess Your name.
▷ ①Or make Your name known
26:14 The dead will not live, the ①departed spirits will not rise;
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And You have eliminated all remembrance of them.
▷ ①Or shades
26:15 You have increased the nation, LORD,
You have increased the nation, You are glorified;
You have extended all the borders of the land.
26:16 LORD, they sought You in distress;
They ①could only whisper a prayer,
Your discipline was upon them.
▷ ①Lit sound forth a whisper
26:17 As the pregnant woman approaches the time to give birth,
She writhes and cries out in her labor pains;
This is how we were before You, LORD.
26:18 We were pregnant, we writhed in labor,
We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.
We could not accomplish deliverance for the earth,
Nor were inhabitants of the world ①born.
▷ ①Lit fallen
26:19 Your dead will live;
①Their corpses will rise.
You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy,
For your dew is as the dew of the ②dawn,
And the earth will ③give birth to the ④departed spirits.
▷ ①As in some ancient versions; MT My ②Lit lights ③Lit cause to fall ④Or shades
26:20 Come, my people, enter your rooms
And close your doors behind you;
Hide for a little ①while
Until indignation ②runs its course.
▷ ①Lit moment ②Lit passes over
26:21 For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed
And will no longer cover her slain.