
Text -- Isaiah 26:11 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Wesley: Isa 26:11 - -- And they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand.
And they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand.

Wesley: Isa 26:11 - -- They shall know that by sad experience, which they would not learn by easier ways.
They shall know that by sad experience, which they would not learn by easier ways.

Wesley: Isa 26:11 - -- Such fire or wrath as thou usest to pour forth upon thine implacable enemies.
Such fire or wrath as thou usest to pour forth upon thine implacable enemies.
JFB: Isa 26:11 - -- To punish the foes of God's people. They who will not see shall be made to "see" to their cost (Isa 5:12).
To punish the foes of God's people. They who will not see shall be made to "see" to their cost (Isa 5:12).

JFB: Isa 26:11 - -- That is, "Thy people." LOWTH translates, "They shall see with confusion Thy zeal for Thy people."
That is, "Thy people." LOWTH translates, "They shall see with confusion Thy zeal for Thy people."
Calvin -> Isa 26:11
Calvin: Isa 26:11 - -- 11.O Jehovah, though thy hand is lifted up This is an explanation of the former statement; for he brings forward nothing that is new, but shews more ...
11.O Jehovah, though thy hand is lifted up This is an explanation of the former statement; for he brings forward nothing that is new, but shews more clearly what he had formerly stated in a few words. He had already said that the wicked “will not behold the majesty of the Lord;” and now he explains that “majesty” to be that which is visible in the works of God. He does not send us to that hidden majesty which is concealed from us, but leads us to the works, which he denotes figuratively (
They shall see and be ashamed He shews plainly that this “beholding” is different from that of which he formerly spoke, when he said that the wicked “do not see the glory of the Lord;” for they do see, but do not observe or take any notice of it; but at length “they shall see,” but too late, and to their great hurt. After having long abused the patience of God, and proved that they were obstinate and rebellious, they will at length be constrained to acknowledge the judgments of God. Thus Cain, (Gen 4:13,) Esau, (Gen 27:38,) and others like them, who too late repented of their crimes, (Heb 12:17,) though they fled from the face of God, yet were constrained to see that he was their Judge. Thus, in those who despise him, God frequently produces a feeling of remorse, that he may display his power; but such knowledge is of no avail to them.
In this manner, therefore, the Prophet threatens wicked men, after having accused them of blindness, in order to shew that they have no plea of ignorance; and he forewarns them that the time will come when they shall know with whom they have to do, and that they will then feel that they ought not to despise that heavenly name which they now treat as fabulous, and scorn. They shut their eyes, and act without restraint, and make us a laughing-stock, and do not think that God will be their Judge, but rather turn into ridicule our distresses and afflictions. Thus they look down on us as from a lofty place, and grow more and more hardened; but at length they will understand that the true worshippers of God have not lost their labor.
And shall be ashamed In order to shew that this beholding of the glory of God is not only of no advantage, but hurtful to them, he says that they shall behold with shame the blessing of God towards believers, in which they will have no share.
Through their envy of the people This tends to shew more strongly the severity of the punishment, that not only will they burn with “envy,” when they shall see that the children of God have been delivered from those distresses, and have been exalted to glory, but there will likewise be added another evil, that they will be consumed by the fire of the enemy. By “the envy of the people,” therefore, is here meant the indignation which wicked men feel when they compare the lot of godly men with their own.
Yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them By the fire of the enemies, he means that “fire” with which God consumes his “enemies.” He employs the word “fire” to denote God’s vengeance; for here it must not be taken for visible “fire” with which we are burned, nor even for the thunderbolt alone, but is a metaphorical expression for dreadful anguish, as we find that in many other passages Scripture denotes by this term, God’s severest vengeance. (Deu 32:22.) No language indeed can sufficiently express this anguish. Yet I do not object to the suggestion, that the Prophet alludes to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen 19:24.)
TSK -> Isa 26:11
TSK: Isa 26:11 - -- when : Psa 10:12; Mic 5:9
will : Isa 18:3; 1Sa 6:9; Job 34:27; Jer 5:3; Act 28:27
they shall : Exo 9:14; 1Sa 5:6-11; Jer 44:28; Luk 16:23
be : Isa 11:...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Isa 26:11
Barnes: Isa 26:11 - -- Lord, when thy hand is lifted up - This is an explanation of the sentiment expressed in the former verse. The lifting up of the hand here refer...
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up - This is an explanation of the sentiment expressed in the former verse. The lifting up of the hand here refers, doubtless, to the manifestations of the majesty and goodness of the Lord.
They will not see - They are blind to all the exhibitions of power, mercy, and goodness.
But they shall see - They shall yet be brought to recognize thy hand. They shall see thy favor toward thy children, and thy judgment on thy foes. The divine dealings will be such that they shall be constrained to recognize him, and to acknowledge his existence and perfections.
And be ashamed - Be confounded because they did not sooner recognize the divine goodness.
For their envy at thy people - The word ‘ their’ is not in the Hebrew, and the sense is, that they shall see the zeal of Yahweh in behalf of his people, and shall be ashamed that they did not sooner recognize his hand. The word rendered ‘ envy’ (
Yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them - Or rather, ‘ Yea, the fire in regard to thy enemies shall devour them.’ The sense is, that when his people were delivered, his foes would be destroyed; his zeal for his people would also be connected with indignation against his foes. The deliverance of his people from Babylon, and the commencement of the downfall of that city, were simultaneous, and the cause was the same.
Poole -> Isa 26:11
Poole: Isa 26:11 - -- When thy hand is lifted up, they will not see and they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is comm...
When thy hand is lifted up, they will not see and they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand, as Eze 44:12 Mic 5:9 . Compare also 2Sa 20:21 1Ki 11:26 . Or, as others render it, when thine hand is high or exalted , i.e. when thy works are most evident and most glorious, when thou appearest most gloriously for the defence of thy people, and for the punishment of thine and their enemies, they will not see.
They shall see: the same word is repeated in another sense. They shall feel and know that by sad and costly experience, which they would not learn by other and easier ways. Seeing is oft put for feeling ; in which sense men are said to see affliction, Lam 3:1 , and to see death, Psa 89:48 , and the like. At the people ; or, at or towards thy people, the pronoun thy being repeated out of the following clause, as it is in many other places of Scripture, as hath been before noted. Their envy and hatred against God’ s people blinded their minds, that they neither could nor would see that God was on their side, though the tokens of it were most manifest and undeniable; which was the case of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who were not sensible that the Lord fought for Israel against the Egyptians, as they said, Exo 14:25 , till it was too late.
The fire of thine enemies not efficiently, but objectively; such fire or wrath as thou usest to pour forth upon thine implacable enemies. As my wrong , Gen 16:5 , is not the wrong done by me, but to me; and my violence, Jer 2:35 , is the violence done to me , as we translate it, not by me.
Gill -> Isa 26:11
Gill: Isa 26:11 - -- Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see,.... Or, "thy high hand they will not see" y; when it is exalted, and become glorious in power, i...
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see,.... Or, "thy high hand they will not see" y; when it is exalted, and become glorious in power, in punishing wicked men; though the punishment is visible, yet they will not consider that it comes from the hand of God, but attribute it to chance, misfortune, or second causes, Psa 28:5 or when the hand the Lord is manifest in doing good to his own people, in delivering them out of their oppressions, and the hands of their oppressors; in reviving his cause and interest, and enlarging the kingdom of his Son; they will not see, own, and acknowledge the power and glory of it. The Targum favours this latter sense,
"Lord, when thou shall be revealed in thy power to do good to them that fear thee, there will be no light to the enemies of thy people:''
but they shall see; whether they will or not; the judgments of God will be manifest, both in his vengeance on antichrist, and in glorifying his own people:
and be ashamed for their envy at the people; their envy at the happiness and prosperity of the Lord's people; their malice towards them, and persecution of them: or, "for the zeal of thy people" z; not for the zeal of the people to God, but for the zeal of the Lord to them; when they shall see him zealously affected to them, and concerned for them; as they shall see it, whether they will or not; they will then be confounded and ashamed, when he will vindicate his own people, and right their wrongs, and avenge their enemies; so the Targum,
"the revenge of thy people shall cover them:''
yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them: or, "fire shall devour them, thine enemies" a; the wrath of God, which is like unto fire; or, fire out of the mouth of the witnesses, Rev 11:5.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Isa 26:11 Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] co...
Geneva Bible -> Isa 26:11
Geneva Bible: Isa 26:11 LORD, [when] thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: [but] they shall see, and be ashamed for [their] ( k ) envy at the people; yea, the fire of thy...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
MHCC -> Isa 26:5-11
MHCC: Isa 26:5-11 - --The way of the just is evenness, a steady course of obedience and holy conversation. And it is their happiness that God makes their way plain and easy...
Matthew Henry -> Isa 26:5-11
Matthew Henry: Isa 26:5-11 - -- Here the prophet further encourages us to trust in the Lord for ever, and to continue waiting on him; for, I. He will make humble souls that trust i...
Keil-Delitzsch -> Isa 26:11-13
Keil-Delitzsch: Isa 26:11-13 - --
The situation still remains essentially the same as in Isa 26:11-13 : "Jehovah, Thy hand has been exalted, but they did not see: they will see the ...
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