Isaiah 26:5-11

26:5 Indeed, ¹  the Lord knocks down those who live in a high place,

he brings down an elevated town;

he brings it down to the ground, ² 

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 ³ The way of the righteous is level,

the path of the righteous that you make is straight. ⁴ 

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, ⁵ 

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ⁶ 

26:9 I ⁷  look for ⁸  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. ⁹ 

26:10 If the wicked are shown mercy,

they do not learn about justice. ¹⁰ 

Even in a land where right is rewarded, they act unjustly; ¹¹ 

they do not see the Lord’s majesty revealed.

26:11 O Lord, you are ready to act, ¹² 

but they don’t even notice.

They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, ¹³ 

yes, fire will consume your enemies. ¹⁴ 

[26:5]  ¹ tn Or “For” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[26:5]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

[26:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

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

[26:9]  ⁹ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “in a land of uprightness they act unjustly”; NRSV “they deal perversely.”

[26:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “O Lord, your hand is lifted up.”

[26:11]  ¹² tn Heb “They will see and be ashamed of zeal of people.” Some take the prefixed verbs as jussives and translate the statement as a prayer, “Let them see and be put to shame.” The meaning of the phrase קִנְאַת־עָם (qin’at-’am, “zeal of people”) is unclear. The translation assumes that this refers to God’s angry judgment upon people. Another option is to understand the phrase as referring to God’s zealous, protective love of his covenant people. In this case one might translate, “by your zealous devotion to your people.”

[26:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “yes, fire, your enemies, will consume them.” Many understand the prefixed verb form to be jussive and translate, “let [fire] consume” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV). The mem suffixed to the verb may be enclitic; if a pronominal suffix, it refers back to “your enemies.”