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 

Isaiah 43:25

43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;

your sins I do not remember.

Isaiah 47:3

47:3 Let your private parts be exposed!

Your genitals will be on display! ³ 

I will get revenge;

I will not have pity on anyone,” ⁴ 

Isaiah 48:12

48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I summoned!

I am the one;

I am present at the very beginning

and at the very end. ⁵ 

[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.”

[47:3]  ³ tn Heb “Your shame will be seen.” In this context “shame” is a euphemism referring to the genitals.

[47:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will not meet a man.” The verb פָּגַע (pagah) apparently carries the nuance “meet with kindness” here (cf. 64:5, and see BDB 803 s.v. Qal.2).

[48:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”