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Isaiah 26

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A Song of Trust in the Strong City 1–6

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. ​
3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ​
4
Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: ​
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. ​

Waiting for God's Righteous Judgment 7–11

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. ​

Confession and Prayer for Peace 12–18

12
LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in 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.
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. ​

The Hope of Resurrection and Final Judgment 19–21

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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Isaiah 26

Verse 1

salvation will God appoint — The song is sung 'in that day', as in Isa 25:9: 'we have waited for him, and he will save us'. 'Salvation' is yeshuah, and it stands in place of 'walls and bulwarks', as in Isa 60:18, 'thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.' The same word returns in v.18 for a deliverance the people could not work.

Verse 2

the righteous nation — The gates open for a nation that 'keepeth the truth': shamar, to guard, and emun, faithfulness. The scene recalls Ps 118:19–20, 'Open to me the gates of righteousness… This gate of the LORD, into which the righteous shall enter.' The next verse describes the keeping that belongs to such a people.

Verse 3

perfect peace — Literally 'peace, peace', shalom said twice. The one kept is the one whose 'mind' (yetser, what is framed or purposed) is 'stayed' (samak, propped and leaning) on God, 'because he trusteth in thee'. Phil 4:7 gives the same keeping: 'the peace of God… shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'

Verse 4

LORD JEHOVAH — Yah joined to the divine name, printed 'LORD JEHOVAH' only here and in Isa 12:2. 'Everlasting strength' is tsur, a rock, with olam, everlasting: the LORD himself is the rock. The call to 'Trust' (batach) takes up the 'trusteth' of v.3, and rests it on who he is.

Verse 5

the lofty city — The LORD 'bringeth down them that dwell on high' and lays the lofty city low (shaphel, said twice) 'even to the ground', 'even to the dust'. It stands opposite the city of v.1 whose walls are salvation. Isa 25:2 says 'thou hast made of a city an heap'; Luke 1:52, 'He hath put down the mighty from their seats'.

Verse 6

the feet of the poor — The ruin is trodden by the ani, the afflicted, and the dal, the weak. These are the people whose faces were ground down (Isa 3:15, 'grind the faces of the poor'); the feet that tread here are theirs. Mal 4:3 has the same picture: 'ye shall tread down the wicked'.

Verse 8

the way of thy judgments — Qavah, to wait in hope, in the path (orach) of the LORD's mishpat, his rulings. Isa 25:9 has the same waiting: 'we have waited for him'. The soul desires his name and 'remembrance' (zeker), the word rendered 'memory' in v.14, where the memory of the oppressors is made to perish.

Verse 9

learn righteousness — The soul seeks him 'in the night', the spirit 'early' (shachar, to seek early). The reason: 'when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness' (lamad, to learn, from a word for a goad). The same two words recur in v.10, where favour fails to teach the wicked.

Verse 10

Let favour be shewed — Chanan, to show grace. Where v.9 says the LORD's judgments teach the world, here grace alone does not teach the wicked, who 'in the land of uprightness' still 'deal unjustly'. Rom 2:4 gives the purpose of such kindness: 'the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance'.

Verse 11

thy hand is lifted up — The verb chazah, to see, is used twice: 'they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed'. The hand lifted up is the LORD's. Their 'envy' (qin'ah, zeal) at his people comes back on them: 'the fire of thine enemies shall devour them', as Heb 10:27 has 'fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries'.

Verse 12

ordain peace — Shaphath, to set in place: the shalom of v.3 is appointed by the LORD for his people. 'Our works' is ma'aseh, and the KJV says he has 'wrought' (pa'al) all of them 'in us'. Phil 2:13 states the same: 'it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.'

Verse 13

other lords — Adon, masters, who 'have had dominion' (ba'al, to rule as master) over the people. The people will 'make mention' (zakar) of the LORD's name alone. Ex 23:13 had forbidden the other: 'make no mention of the name of other gods'. Vv.8, 13 and 14 turn on remembrance: zeker, zakar, zeker.

Verse 14

they shall not rise — The verbs of v.19, 'live' (chayah) and 'rise' (qum), are denied here to the 'other lords' of v.13, whose 'memory' (zeker, as in v.8) is made to perish. 'Deceased' is rapha, the dead as shades; the same word is rendered 'the dead' in v.19.

Verse 15

increased the nation — Yasaph, to add, said twice, with the LORD as the one who adds. The verse sets the increase beside the scattering: 'removed it far' (rachaq) 'unto all the ends of the earth', the verb of Ezek 11:16, 'Although I have cast them far off among the heathen'. Increase and scattering are both ascribed to him.

Verse 17

a woman with child — The picture of labour: the woman 'draweth near the time of her delivery', is in pain (chul, to writhe) and cries in her 'pangs' (chebel). The people say 'so have we been in thy sight, O LORD'. Christ uses the same picture of pain and joy: 'as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish' (John 16:21).

Verse 18

brought forth wind — Ruach, wind, the word rendered 'spirit' in v.9. The labour yields no child: they 'have not wrought any deliverance' (yeshuah), the word of v.1, where the walls are salvation that God appoints. V.19 turns from the people's effort to 'Thy dead men', whom he raises.

Verse 19

Thy dead men shall live — A statement of resurrection, with chayah, to live, and qum, to rise, the verbs refused to the lords in v.14. 'Ye that dwell in dust' are told to 'Awake' (quts), the verb of Dan 12:2, 'many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake'. The dew is his: 'thy dew'.

Verse 20

enter thou into thy chambers — Cheder, an inner room, with the door shut 'for a little moment' (rega) 'until the indignation be overpast', as Israel stayed indoors on the night of the Passover, 'until the morning' (Ex 12:22). Isa 54:7 uses rega of the LORD's own turning away, and Isa 10:25 says 'the indignation shall cease'.

Verse 21

cometh out of his place — As in Mic 1:3, 'the LORD cometh forth out of his place' (maqom). The earth 'shall disclose her blood' (galah, to uncover) and no more cover her slain, as the ground once received Abel's: 'the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground' (Gen 4:10).