We have, as it were,1 brought forth wind;
We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,
Nor have athe inhabitants of the world fallen.
Together with1 my dead body they shall arise.
bAwake and sing, you who dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dew of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out the dead.
Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment
And shut your doors behind you;
Hide yourself, as it were, bfor a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The earth will also disclose her1 blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
| << Isaiah 26:19 | Isaiah 26:21 >> |
Isaiah 26:20
Come, my people - This is an epilogue (Rosenmuller), in which the choir addresses the people, and entreats them to be tranquil during that convulsion by which their oppressors would be punished, and the way made for their deliverance. The image is taken from seeking a shelter when a storm rages, until its fury is spent. The address is to the captive Jews in Babylon. The tempest that would rage would be the wars and commotions by which Babylon was to be overthrown. While that storm raged, they were exhorted to be calm and serene.
Enter thou into thy chambers - Into places of retirement, where the storm of indignation on your enemies shall not reach or affect you.
Hide thyself as it were ... - Do not mingle in the scenes of battle, lest you should partake of the general calamity.
For a little moment - Implying that the war would not rage long. Babylon was taken in a single night (see the notes at Isa. 13; 14), and the call here is for the people of God to be calm while this battle should rage in which the city should be taken.
Until the indignation ... - Not, as Lowth supposes, the indignation of God against his people, but the storm of his indignation against their enemies the Babylonians. That would be soon ' overpast,' the city would be taken, the storms of war would cease to rage, and then they would be delivered, and might safely return to their own land.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Isaiah 26:20:
| << Isaiah 26:19 | Isaiah 26:21 >> |
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