Isaiah 26; Isaiah 27

1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city. Its walls and fortifications provide safety.

2 Open the gates, and let the righteous nation come in, the nation that remains faithful.

3 With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you.

4 Trust the LORD always, because the LORD, the LORD alone, is an everlasting rock.

5 He has brought down those who live high in the towering city. He levels it. He levels it to the ground and throws it into the dust.

6 Feet trample it, the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor.

7 The path of the righteous is level. O Upright One, you make the road of the righteous smooth.

8 Certainly, we wait with hope for you, O LORD, [as we follow] the path of your guiding principles. We want to remember you and your name.

9 With my soul I long for you at night. Yes, with my spirit I eagerly look for you. When your guiding principles are on earth, those who live in the world learn to do what is right.

10 Although the wicked are shown pity, they do not learn to do what is right. They do what is wrong in the upright land and do not see the majesty of the LORD.

11 O LORD, your power is visible, but they do not see it. They will see how devoted your people are, and they will be put to shame. Your burning anger will destroy your enemies.

12 O LORD, you will establish peace for us, since you have done everything for us.

13 O LORD, our God, you are not the only master to rule us, but we acknowledge only you.

14 The wicked are dead. They are no longer alive. The spirits of the dead won't rise. You have punished them, destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them.

15 You have expanded the nation, O LORD. You have expanded the nation. You are honored. You have extended all the land's boundaries.

16 O LORD, the people have come to you in trouble. They were humbled by oppression, by your discipline upon them.

17 O LORD, when we are with you, we are like pregnant women ready to give birth. They writhe and cry out in their labor pains.

18 We were pregnant; we writhed with labor pains only to give birth to the wind. We weren't able to bring salvation to the land, and no new people were born on earth.

19 Your dead will live. Their corpses will rise. Those who lie dead in the dust will wake up and shout for joy, because your dew is a refreshing dew, and the earth will revive the spirits of the dead.

20 My people, go to your rooms, and shut the doors behind you. Hide for a little while until his fury has ended.

21 The LORD is going to come out from his dwelling place to punish those who live on earth for their sins. The earth will uncover the blood shed on it and will no longer cover up its dead bodies.

1 On that day the LORD will use his fierce and powerful sword to punish Leviathan, that slippery snake, Leviathan, that twisting snake. He will kill that monster which lives in the sea.

2 On that day sing about a delightful vineyard.

3 I, the LORD, watch over it. I water it continually. I watch over it day and night so that no one will harm it.

4 I am no longer angry. If only thorns and briars would confront me! I would fight them in battle and set all of them on fire.

5 Or else let them come to me for protection. Let them make peace with me. Yes, let them make peace with me.

6 In times to come Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom, bud, and fill the whole world with fruit.

7 Will the LORD hurt Israel as he hurt others who hurt them? Will he kill them as he killed others?

8 He punished Israel by sending it away. He removed it with a fierce blast from the east winds.

9 In this way the wrongdoings of the descendants of Jacob are covered up. This is the way they will turn from their sins-- when they turn all the altar stones into powdered chalk and no poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah or incense altars are left standing.

10 The fortified city is isolated. The homestead is left deserted, abandoned like the desert. Calves will graze there. They will lie down. They will feed on the branches.

11 When the branches are dried up, they will be broken off. Women will come and build a fire with them. These people don't understand [these things]. That is why their maker won't have compassion on them, and their Creator won't have pity on them.

12 On that day the LORD will begin his threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt. People of Israel, you will be gathered one by one.

13 On that day a ram's horn will be blown loudly. Those who are dying in Assyria and those who are banished to Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.