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 45:19

45:19 I have not spoken in secret,

in some hidden place. ³ 

I did not tell Jacob’s descendants,

‘Seek me in vain!’ ⁴ 

I am the Lord,

the one who speaks honestly,

who makes reliable announcements. ⁵ 

Isaiah 33:15

33:15 The one who lives ⁶  uprightly ⁷ 

and speaks honestly;

the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures

and rejects a bribe; ⁸ 

the one who does not plot violent crimes ⁹ 

and does not seek to harm others ¹⁰  –

[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.”

[45:19]  ³ tn Heb “in a place of a land of darkness” (ASV similar); NASB “in some dark land.”

[45:19]  ⁴ tn “In vain” translates תֹהוּ (tohu), used here as an adverbial accusative: “for nothing.”

[45:19]  ⁵ tn The translation above assumes that צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim) are adverbial accusatives (see 33:15). If they are taken as direct objects, indicating the content of what is spoken, one might translate, “who proclaims deliverance, who announces justice.”

[33:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “walks” (so NASB, NIV).

[33:15]  ⁶ tn Or, possibly, “justly”; NAB “who practices virtue.”

[33:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “[who] shakes off his hands from grabbing hold of a bribe.”

[33:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “[who] shuts his ear from listening to bloodshed.”

[33:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “[who] closes his eyes from seeing evil.”