Isaías 26

¹ In that day shallThis song was made to comfort the faithful when their captivity would come, assuring them also of their deliverance, for which they should sing this song.this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city;God's protection and defence will be sufficient for us.salvation will [God] appoint [for] walls and bulwarks.

² He assures the godly to return after the captivity to Jerusalem.Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

³ Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose]You have decreed so, and your purpose cannot be changed.mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee.

⁴ Trust in the Lord for euer: for in the Lord God is strength for euermore.

⁵ For he bringeth down them that dwell on high;There is no power so high that it can hinder God, when he will deliver his.the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, [even] to the ground; he bringeth it [even] to the dust.

⁶ The foot shall tread it down, [even] the feet of theGod will set the poor afflicted over the power of the wicked.poor, [and] the steps of the needy.

⁷ The way of the iust is righteousnesse: thou wilt make equall the righteous path of the iust.

⁸ Yea, in the way of thyWe have constantly abode in the adversities with which you had afflicted us.judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of [our] soul [is] to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

⁹ With 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 learnMeaning that by afflictions men will learn to fear God.righteousness.

¹⁰ Let favourThe wicked though God show them evident signs of his grace, will not be any better off.be shown to the wicked, [yet] he will not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

¹¹ LORD, [when] thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: [but] they shall see, and be ashamed for [their]Through envy and indignation against your people.envy at the people; yea, the fire of thyThe fire and vengeance with which you destroy your enemies.enemies shall devour them.

¹² Lord, vnto vs thou wilt ordeine peace: for thou also hast wrought all our workes for vs.

¹³ O LORD our God, [other]The Babylonians, who have not governed according to your word.lords beside thee have had dominion over us: [but] by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

¹⁴ [They are]Meaning that the reprobate even in this life will have the beginning of everlasting death.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.

¹⁵ Thou hast increasedThat is, the company of the faithful by the calling of the Gentiles.the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed [it] far [to] all the ends of the earth.

¹⁶ LORD, in trouble have theyThat is, the faithful by the rods were moved to pray to you for deliverance.visited thee, they poured out a prayer [when] thy chastening [was] upon them.

¹⁷ 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 thyThat is, in extreme sorrow.sight, O LORD.

¹⁸ We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forthOur sorrows had no end, neither did we enjoy the comfort that we looked for.wind; we have not wrought any deliverance on the earth; neither have the inhabitants ofThe wicked and men without religion were not destroyed.the world fallen.

¹⁹ He comforts the faithful in their afflictions, showing them that even in death they will have life and that they would certainly rise to glory, the contrary would come to the wicked, as in (Isa_26:14).Thy dead [men] shall live, [together with] my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thyAs herbs dead in winter flourish again by the rain in the springtime, so they who lie in the dust will rise up to joy, when they feel the dew of God's grace.dew [is as] the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

²⁰ Come, my people,He exhorts the faithful to be patient in their afflictions and to wait on God's work.enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation shall be past.

²¹ For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose herThe earth will vomit and cast out the innocent blood, which it has drunk, that it may care for vengeance against the wicked.blood, and shall no more cover her slain.