26:1 On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.
26:2 Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith.
26:3 A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you."
26:4 Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock.
26:5 He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust.
26:6 It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor.
26:7 The way of the just is smooth; the path of the just you make level.
26:8 Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD, we look to you; Your name and your title are the desire of our souls.
26:9 My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you; When your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world’s inhabitants learn justice.
26:10 The wicked man, spared, does not learn justice; in an upright land he acts perversely, and sees not the majesty of the LORD.
26:11 O LORD, your hand is uplifted, but they behold it not; Let them be shamed when they see your zeal for your people: let the fire prepared for your enemies consume them.
26:12 O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.
26:13 O LORD, our God, other lords than you have ruled us; it is from you only that we can call upon your name.
26:14 Dead they are, they have no life, shades that cannot rise; For you have punished and destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them.
26:15 You have increased the nation, O LORD, increased the nation to your own glory, and extended far all the borders of the land.
26:16 O LORD, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising.
26:17 As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD.
26:18 We conceived and writhed in pain, giving birth to wind; Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
26:19 But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth.
26:20 Go, my people, enter your chambers, and close your doors behind you; Hide yourselves for a brief moment, until the wrath is past.
26:21 See, the LORD goes forth from his place, to punish the wickedness of the earth’s inhabitants; The earth will reveal the blood upon her, and no longer conceal her slain.