Isaiah 26:1

A Song of Salvation

1 In ^athat day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:
“We have a strong city;
^bGod will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.

2 ^aOpen the gates,
That the righteous nation which¹ keeps the truth may enter in.

3 You will keep him in perfect ^apeace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,
^aFor in YAH, the Lord, is¹ everlasting strength.

5 For He brings¹ down those who dwell on high,
^aThe lofty city;
He lays it low,
He lays it low to the ground,
He brings it down to the dust.

6 The foot shall¹ tread it down—
The feet of the poor
And the steps of the needy.”

7 The way of the just is uprightness;
^aO Most Upright,
You¹ weigh the path of the just.

8 Yes, ^ain the way of Your judgments,
O Lord, we have ^bwaited for You;
The desire of our soul is for Your name
And for the remembrance of You.

9 ^aWith my soul I have desired You in the night,
Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;
For when Your judgments are in the earth,
The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 ^aLet grace be shown to the wicked,
Yet he will not learn righteousness;
In ^bthe land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,
And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, ^athey will not see.
But they will see and be ashamed
For¹ their envy of people;
Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works¹ in us.

13 O Lord our God, ^amasters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.

14 They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,
And made all their memory to ^aperish.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

<< Isaiah 25:12

Isaiah 26:2 >>

Isaiah 26:1

In that day shall this song be sung - By the people of God, on their restoration to their own land.

We have a strong city - Jerusalem. This does not mean that it was then strongly fortified, but that God would guard it, and that thus it would be strong. Jerusalem was easily capable of being strongly fortified Psalms 25:2; but the idea here is, that Yahweh would be a protector, and that this would constitute its strength.

Salvation will God appoint for walls - That is, he will himself be the defender of his people in the place of walls and bulwarks. A similar expression occurs in Isaiah 60:18 (see also Jeremiah 3:23, and Zechariah 2:5).

Bulwarks - This word means properly bastions, or ramparts. The original means properly a pomoerium , or antemural defense; a space without the wall of a city raised up like a small wall. The Syriac renders it, Bar shuro , - ' Son of a wall,' meaning a small wall. It was usually a breastwork, or heap of earth thrown up around the city, that constituted an additional defense, so that if they were driven from that they could retreat within the walls.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 26:1:**

Psalms 48:13
Isaiah 26:2
Isaiah 27:1
Isaiah 38:9
Zechariah 2:5

<< Isaiah 25:12

Isaiah 26:2 >>

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