Isaiah 26:7

God’s People Anticipate Vindication

26:7 ¹ The way of the righteous is level,

the path of the righteous that you make is straight. ² 

Ezekiel 18:25-30

18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct ³  is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 18:26 When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; ⁴  because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. 18:27 When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. 18:28 Because he considered ⁵  and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

18:30 “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, ⁶  O house of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord. Repent ⁷  and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. ⁸ 

Romans 9:14

9:14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!

[26:7]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.”

[18:25]  ³ tn Heb “way.”

[18:26]  ⁴ tn Heb “for them” or “because of them.”

[18:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “he saw.”

[18:30]  ⁶ tn Heb “ways.”

[18:30]  ⁷ tn The verbs and persons in this verse are plural whereas the individual has been the subject of the chapter.

[18:30]  ⁸ tn Or “leading to punishment.”