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The Prophets · Old Testament

Isaiah 26

Isaiah 26: the song of the strong city and the dead who live

General context

The chapter is introduced as a song to be sung in the land of Judah in that day. The singers have a strong city whose walls are salvation, and they call for the gates to open for the righteous nation that keeps the truth. The one whose mind is stayed on the Lord is kept in perfect peace, and hearers are told to trust in the Lord for ever, because he brings down the lofty city to the dust, where the feet of the poor tread it. The way of the just is uprightness, and the singers say they have waited for the Lord in the way of his judgments, seeking him in the night and early, because his judgments teach the world righteousness. The wicked, even when shown favour, do not learn it and will not behold the Lord's majesty; when his hand is lifted they will not see, but they will be ashamed and fire will devour them. The singers say other lords have had dominion over them, but those lords are dead and will not rise, and their memory has perished. The Lord has increased the nation and removed it far. In trouble they poured out a prayer under his chastening; they were like a woman in labour who brought forth only wind and worked no deliverance. Then the song turns: thy dead men shall live, those in the dust are told to awake and sing, and the earth will cast out the dead. The people are told to enter their chambers and shut the doors for a little moment until the indignation passes, because the Lord is coming out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth, and the earth will disclose her blood and no longer cover her slain.

Cited passages: Isaiah 26:1, Isaiah 26:2, Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah 26:4, Isaiah 26:5, Isaiah 26:6, Isaiah 26:8, Isaiah 26:9, Isaiah 26:10, Isaiah 26:11, Isaiah 26:13, Isaiah 26:14, Isaiah 26:15, Isaiah 26:16, Isaiah 26:17, Isaiah 26:18, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah 26:20, Isaiah 26:21

Isaiah 26 (KJV)

1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:

5For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

6The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

7The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

12Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

13O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

15Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

16Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord.

18We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The text sets the song in the land of Judah and in that day, the phrase already used in 24:21 and 25:9, but gives no date or occasion. The singers speak as we and our, and the text does not say who they are beyond calling them the righteous nation which keepeth the truth. The strong city of verse 1 is not named, and the lofty city brought to the dust in verse 5 is not named either. The other lords who have had dominion over us are not identified; the text says only that they are dead and will not rise. Verse 19 contains both thy dead men and my dead body, shifting person without explanation, and the text does not say whose body is meant. Verse 20 addresses my people and is followed by a verse that speaks of the Lord in the third person; the text does not mark who speaks verse 20, but it is no longer the we of the song. The name Jehovah appears in verse 4 in this source's wording, alongside the usual Lord. The chapter names no king and no enemy nation, and the inhabitants of the earth punished in verse 21 are not further specified.

Cited passages: Isaiah 26:1, Isaiah 24:21, Isaiah 26:2, Isaiah 26:5, Isaiah 26:13, Isaiah 26:14, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah 26:20, Isaiah 26:4, Isaiah 26:21

Literary context

The song sets two cities against each other: the strong city with salvation for walls, and the lofty city laid low, with the phrase he layeth it low said twice in one verse. It also sets two ways of learning against each other: the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness from judgment, while the wicked shown favour do not learn it. Verse 14 and verse 19 answer one another: the other lords are dead and shall not live, but thy dead men shall live. Between them stands the labour image, in which pain produces only wind, so that the resurrection of verse 19 comes as reversal rather than achievement; the singers admit they have not wrought any deliverance. Waiting recurs through the poem: waited for thee, desired thee in the night, seek thee early, continuing the we have waited of 25:9. The close changes speaker and mood, with a voice sending my people into their chambers while the Lord goes out to punish, and the final line, the earth shall disclose her blood, prepares the sword and sea-serpent of 27:1.

Cited passages: Isaiah 26:1, Isaiah 26:5, Isaiah 26:9, Isaiah 26:10, Isaiah 26:14, Isaiah 26:19, Isaiah 26:18, Isaiah 26:8, Isaiah 25:9, Isaiah 26:20, Isaiah 26:21, Isaiah 27:1

Key moments

  1. A strong city with walls of salvation (Isaiah 26:1). The song for Judah opens with a city whose walls are salvation.
  2. Kept in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). The one whose mind is stayed on the Lord is kept in peace because he trusts.
  3. The lofty city trodden by the poor (Isaiah 26:6). The city brought to dust is trodden by the feet of the poor and needy.
  4. Other lords are dead (Isaiah 26:14). Those who ruled over the singers are dead, will not rise, and are forgotten.
  5. Labour that brings forth wind (Isaiah 26:18). The singers compare their trouble to birth pangs that produced only wind.
  6. Thy dead men shall live (Isaiah 26:19). Those who dwell in dust are told to awake and sing as the earth casts out the dead.
  7. Into the chambers for a moment (Isaiah 26:20). The people are told to hide until the indignation passes while the Lord goes out to punish.

For reflection

The singers admit their labour brought forth only wind and no deliverance, and the next breath says the dead shall live and the earth shall cast out the dead. What does the song ask of a reader who has to say both lines in one voice?

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