Isaiah 26:8-9

26:8 Yes, as your judgments unfold, ¹ 

O Lord, we wait for you.

We desire your fame and reputation to grow. ² 

26:9 I ³  look for ⁴  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. ⁵ 

Isaiah 56:1-7

The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter

56:1 This is what the Lord says,

“Promote ⁶  justice! Do what is right!

For I am ready to deliver you;

I am ready to vindicate you openly. ⁷ 

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ⁸ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ⁹ 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ¹⁰ 

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ¹¹  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ¹²  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ¹³  my covenant,

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ¹⁴ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ¹⁵  for them that will remain.

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ¹⁶  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ¹⁷  my covenant –

56:7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;

I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me. ¹⁸ 

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,

for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.” ¹⁹ 

[26:8]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “your name and your remembrance [is] the desire of [our?] being.”

[26:9]  ³ tn Heb “with my soul I.” This is a figure for the speaker himself (“I”).

[26:9]  ⁴ tn Or “long for, desire.” The speaker acknowledges that he is eager to see God come in judgment (see vv. 8, 9b).

[26:9]  ⁵ 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).

[56:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”

[56:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”

[56:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[56:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ¹² tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[56:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:5]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[56:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[56:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”

[56:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”