Isaiah 26:1-10

Judah Will Celebrate

26:1 At that time ¹  this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city!

The Lord’s ²  deliverance, like walls and a rampart, makes it secure. ³ 

26:2 Open the gates so a righteous nation can enter –

one that remains trustworthy.

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ⁴ 

26:4 Trust in the Lord from this time forward, ⁵ 

even in Yah, the Lord, an enduring protector! ⁶ 

26:5 Indeed, ⁷  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ⁸ 

he throws it down to the dust.

26:6 It is trampled underfoot

by the feet of the oppressed,

by the soles of the poor.”

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

26:7 ⁹ The way of the righteous is level,

the path of the righteous that you make is straight. ¹⁰ 

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, ¹¹ 

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ¹² 

26:9 I ¹³  look for ¹⁴  you during the night,

my spirit within me seeks you at dawn,

for when your judgments come upon the earth,

those who live in the world learn about justice. ¹⁵ 

26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,

they do not learn about justice. ¹⁶ 

Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; ¹⁷ 

they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.

[26:1]  ¹ tn Heb “In that day” (so KJV).

[26:1]  ² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:1]  ³ tn Heb “deliverance he makes walls and a rampart.”

[26:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[26:4]  ⁵ tn Or “forevermore.” For other uses of the phrase עֲדֵי־עַד (’ade-’ad) see Isa 65:18 and Pss 83:17; 92:7.

[26:4]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text has “for in Yah, the Lord, an everlasting rock.” Some have suggested that the phrase בְּיָהּ (beyah, “in Yah”) is the result of dittography. A scribe seeing כִּי יְהוָה (ki yÿhvah) in his original text would somehow have confused the letters and accidentally inserted בְּיָהּ between the words (bet and kaf [ב and כ] can be confused in later script phases). A number of English versions retain both divine names for emphasis (ESV, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). One of the Qumran texts (1QIsa^a) confirms the MT reading as well.

[26:5]  ⁷ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ⁸ tn The translation assumes that יַשְׁפִּילֶנָּה (yashpilennah) goes with the preceding words “an elevated town,” and that יַשְׁפִּילָהּ (yashpilah) belongs with the following words, “to the ground.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:469, n. 7.

[26:7]  ⁹ sn The literary structure of chap. 26 is not entirely clear. The chapter begins with an eschatological song of praise and ends with a lament and prophetic response (vv. 16-21). It is not certain where the song of praise ends or how vv. 7-15 fit into the structure. Verses 10-11a seem to lament the presence of evil and v. 11b anticipates the arrival of judgment, so it is possible that vv. 7-15 are a prelude to the lament and announcement that conclude the chapter.

[26:7]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text has, “upright, the path of the righteous you make level.” There are three possible ways to translate this line. Some take יָשָׁר (yashar) as a divine title: “O Upright One” (cf. NASB, NIV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT). Others regard יָשָׁר as the result of dittography (מֵישָׁרִים יָשָׁר ַמעְגַּל, mesharim yashar ma’gal) and do not include it in the translation. Another possibility is to keep יָשָׁר and render the line as “the path of the righteous that you prepare is straight.”

[26:8]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text has, “yes, the way of your judgments.” The translation assumes that “way” is related to the verb “we wait” as an adverbial accusative (“in the way of your judgments we wait”). מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ (mishpatekha, “your judgments”) could refer to the Lord’s commandments, in which case one might translate, “as we obey your commands.” However, in verse 9 the same form refers to divine acts of judgment on evildoers.

[26:8]  ¹² tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

[26:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

[26:9]  ¹⁴ tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).

[26:9]  ¹⁵ tn The translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “those who live in the world learn to live in a righteous manner” (cf. NCV).

[26:10]  ¹⁶ tn As in verse 9b, the translation understands צֶדֶק (tsedeq) in the sense of “justice,” but it is possible that it carries the nuance “righteousness,” in which case one might translate, “they do not learn to live in a righteous manner.”

[26:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”