Passage

Isaiah 26

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: we have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in. 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. 4. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an everlasting rock. 5. For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, 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 the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7. The way of the just is uprightness: thou that art upright dost direct the path of the just. 8. Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial name, is the desire of our soul. 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 10. Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah. 11. Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries. 12. Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou hast also wrought all our works for us. 13. O Jehovah our God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish. 15. Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land. 16. Jehovah, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 17. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so we have been before thee, O Jehovah. 18. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19. Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead. 20. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21. For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." (Isaiah 26:1-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter: the one which keeps faith. 3. You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you. 4. Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock. 5. For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust. 6. The foot shall tread it down; Even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.” 7. The way of the just is uprightness. You who are upright make the path of the righteous level. 8. Yes, in the way of your judgments, Yahweh, have we waited for you. Your name and your renown are the desire of our soul. 9. With my soul I have desired you in the night. Yes, with my spirit within me will I seek you earnestly; for when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 10. Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal wrongfully, and will not see Yahweh’s majesty. 11. Yahweh, your hand is lifted up, yet they don’t see; but they will see your zeal for the people, and be disappointed. Yes, fire will consume your adversaries. 12. Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us, for you have also done all our work for us. 13. Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but by you only will we make mention of your name. 14. The dead shall not live. The departed spirits shall not rise. Therefore you have visited and destroyed them, and caused all memory of them to perish. 15. You have increased the nation, O Yahweh. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16. Yahweh, in trouble they have visited you. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was on them. 17. Like as a woman with child, who draws near the time of her delivery, is in pain and cries out in her pangs; so we have been before you, Yahweh. 18. We have been with child. We have been in pain. We gave birth, it seems, only to wind. We have not worked any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19. Your dead shall live. My dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth will cast out the departed spirits. 20. Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past. 21. For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain." (Isaiah 26:1-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. ^{truth: Heb. truths} 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ^{perfect: Heb. peace, peace} ^{mind: or, thought, or, imagination} 4. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: ^{everlasting: Heb. the rock of ages} 5. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; 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 the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7. The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. 8. Yea, in the way of thy 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 learn righteousness. 10. Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he 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 envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. ^{at: or, toward thy people} 12. LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. ^{in us: or, for us} 13. O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14. They are 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 increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. 16. LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. ^{prayer: Heb. secret speech} 17. Like 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 thy sight, O LORD. 18. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 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 her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. ^{blood: Heb. bloods}" (Isaiah 26:1-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. In that day sung is this song in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city, Salvation He doth make walls and bulwark. 2. Open ye the gates, that enter may a righteous nation, Preserving stedfastness. 3. An imagination supported Thou fortifiest peace, peace! For in Thee it is confident. 4. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever, For in Jah Jehovah [is] a rock of ages, 5. For He bowed down the dwellers on high, A city set on high He maketh low, He maketh it low unto the earth, He causeth it to come unto the dust, 6. Tread it down doth a foot, Feet of the poor, steps of the weak. 7. The path for the righteous [is] uprightness, O upright One, The path of the righteous Thou dost ponder. 8. Also, [in] the path of Thy judgments, O Jehovah, we have waited [for] Thee, To Thy name and to Thy remembrance [Is] the desire of the soul. 9. [With] my soul I desired Thee in the night, Also, [with] my spirit within me I seek Thee earnestly, For when Thy judgments [are] on the earth, The inhabitants of the world have learned righteousness. 10. The wicked findeth favour, He hath not learned righteousness, In a land of straightforwardness he dealeth perversely, And seeth not the excellency of Jehovah. 11. O Jehovah, high [is] Thy hand, they see not, They see the zeal of the people, and are ashamed, Also, the fire, Thine adversaries, consumeth them. 12. O Jehovah, Thou appointest peace to us, For, all our works also Thou hast wrought for us. 13. O Jehovah our God, lords have ruled us besides Thee, Only, by Thee we make mention of Thy name. 14. Dead, they live not, Rephaim, they rise not, Therefore Thou hast inspected and dost destroy them, Yea, thou destroyest all their memory. 15. Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, Thou hast added to the nation, Thou hast been honoured, Thou hast put far off all the ends of earth. 16. O Jehovah, in distress they missed Thee, They have poured out a whisper, Thy chastisement [is] on them. 17. When a pregnant woman cometh near to the birth, She is pained, she crieth in her pangs, So we have been from Thy face, O Jehovah. 18. We have conceived, we have been pained. We have brought forth as it were wind, Salvation we do not work in the earth, Nor do the inhabitants of the world fall. 19. 'Thy dead live, My dead body they rise. Awake and sing, ye dwellers in the dust, For the dew of herbs [is] thy dew, And the land of Rephaim thou causest to fall. 20. Come, My people, enter into thy inner chambers, And shut thy doors behind thee, Hide thyself shortly a moment till the indignation pass over. 21. For, lo, Jehovah is coming out of His place, To charge the iniquity of the inhabitant of the earth upon him, And revealed hath the earth her blood, Nor doth she cover any more her slain!'" (Isaiah 26:1-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Quoted in

_log-archive-2026-05

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.