Trust in God and Hope for Deliverance
Isaiah 26:1-21
Isa.26.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- יושר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- השיר: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- עיר: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עז: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- ישועה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישית: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חומות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- וחל: CONJ
Parallels
- Isaiah 12:2-6 (structural): Both are communal songs of praise in Judah celebrating God as salvation; Isaiah 26:1 introduces a song (‘In that day this song will be sung’), mirrored by the victory-song language of Isaiah 12.
- Psalm 46:5-7 (thematic): Speaks of God’s presence in the city and its stability (‘God is within her, she will not fall’ and ‘the LORD of hosts is with us’), echoing Isaiah’s image of a ‘strong city’ secured by salvation as walls.
- Psalm 48:1-3 (thematic): Describes the city of God as great, beautiful, and a refuge on the heights—paralleling Isaiah’s portrayal of Judah/Zion as a fortified, salvific city.
- Zephaniah 3:14-17 (thematic): Calls for singing and rejoicing in Zion because the LORD is in her to save and rejoice over her—matching Isaiah’s motif of a communal song celebrating God’s saving protection for the city.
- Nahum 1:7 (verbal): Uses the language of God as a ‘stronghold’/refuge (‘The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble’), resonating with Isaiah’s depiction of salvation functioning as walls and bulwarks for a strong city.
Alternative generated candidates
- On that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; salvation he will appoint for walls and bulwarks."
- On that day this song shall be established in the land of Judah: A strong city—for us salvation he will appoint; he will set up walls and bulwarks.
Isa.26.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- פתחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- שערים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- גוי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אמנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 118:19-20 (verbal): Uses nearly identical gate-language: 'Open to me the gates of righteousness... This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter,' directly echoing Isaiah's call to open gates for the righteous.
- Psalm 24:7-10 (thematic): Gate imagery for a rightful entry: 'Lift up your heads, O ye gates... that the King of glory may come in,' paralleling the motif of opening gates to admit the proper, holy entrant.
- Isaiah 60:11 (structural): Speaks of open gates and nations entering ('Thy gates shall be open continually... that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles'), echoing Isaiah 26's portrayal of gates opened to a people/nation.
- Zechariah 8:20-23 (thematic): Foretells many peoples and nations coming to seek the LORD and join themselves to Jerusalem—comparable to the prophetic motif of nations/peoples entering God's restored place.
- Revelation 21:24-25 (thematic): The New Jerusalem's gates are never shut and the nations walk by its light, reflecting the eschatological extension of the open-gates motif allowing righteous nations to enter.
Alternative generated candidates
- Open the gates, that a righteous nation, a people who keep faith, may enter.
- Open the gates, that a righteous people may enter—those who keep faithfulness.
Isa.26.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יצר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- סמוך: ADJ,m,sg
- תצר: VERB,qal,imperfect,2,m,sg
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- בטוח: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Proverbs 3:5-6 (thematic): Both passages link trusting God with stability and right direction—trust (and a steadfast heart/mind) results in guidance, confidence, and well-being.
- Philippians 4:7 (verbal): Paul speaks of 'the peace of God that guards your hearts and minds,' echoing Isaiah's language of God keeping or guarding believers in perfect peace.
- Psalm 4:8 (thematic): Confidence in the LORD produces peaceful rest and safety—'in peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD,' paralleling trust as the basis for peace in Isaiah 26:3.
- Jeremiah 17:7-8 (thematic): Jeremiah portrays the person who trusts in the LORD as secure and flourishing (like a well-watered tree), similarly linking trust in God to stability and protection.
- Psalm 125:1 (thematic): Those who trust in the LORD are portrayed as immovable like Mount Zion, reflecting the Isaiah theme that trust yields steadfastness and peace.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will keep him in steadfast peace—peace; for he trusts in you.
- You will keep in steadfast peace—peace—the one whose mind is fixed on you, for he trusts in you.
Isa.26.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- בטחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- עדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- כי: CONJ
- ביה: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עולמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 33:27 (allusion): Speaks of God as eternal refuge/strength ('the eternal God ... everlasting arms'), echoing Isaiah's portrayal of the LORD as an everlasting stronghold.
- Psalm 18:2 (verbal): Uses the language of rock/fortress and strength—'The LORD is my rock, my fortress... my strength, in whom I will trust'—closely paralleling Isaiah's 'everlasting rock' and trust in the LORD.
- Nahum 1:7 (verbal): Calls the LORD a stronghold and connects that status with the faithful who trust him ('The LORD is good... a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him'), resonating with Isaiah's theme of trusting the everlasting stronghold.
- Psalm 118:8 (thematic): Affirms the priority of trusting the LORD over human help ('It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man'), reflecting Isaiah's command to trust God forever.
- Psalm 62:8 (thematic): Urges continual trust in God and presents God as a refuge ('Trust in him at all times... God is a refuge for us'), echoing Isaiah's call to perpetual trust in the LORD as the enduring rock.
Alternative generated candidates
- Trust in the LORD forever, for in the LORD is the Rock of Ages.
- Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting Rock.
Isa.26.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- השח: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- מרום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קריה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נשגבה: VERB,nif,perf,3,f,sg
- ישפילנה: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- ישפילה: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,sg
- עד: PREP
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יגיענה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עד: PREP
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 2:11-12 (verbal): Both passages use the motif of humbling the proud/lofty; language about the haughtiness of men being brought low and the LORD alone being exalted echoes Isa 26:5's laying low of a lofty city.
- Isaiah 14:12-15 (thematic): The fall of the exalted (the king of Babylon/‘morning star’ figure) shares the theme of divine humiliation — proud heights cast down to the earth, paralleling Isa 26:5's leveling of a high city.
- Isaiah 14:22-23 (verbal): God's decree to make Babylon a desolate ruin and reduce it to a haunt of bitterns/porcupines parallels the imagery of laying a high city low 'to the dust' in Isa 26:5.
- Psalm 18:27 (or 1 Samuel 2:7-8) (thematic): The contrast of God lifting the lowly and bringing down the haughty parallels Isa 26:5's motif of humbling exalted places/people.
- James 4:6 (allusion): The New Testament principle that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble echoes the Isaiah theme of divine action against the proud and exaltation/humbling by God in Isa 26:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the lofty city of inhabitants— a lofty city— he will abase it, he will lay it low to the ground; he will bring it down to the dust.
- For he brings low the lofty city; the proud city he will abase—he will abase it to the ground, bring it down to the dust.
Isa.26.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- תרמסנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- רגל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רגלי: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
- פעמי: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- דלים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Amos 4:1 (verbal): Condemns the wealthy who oppress the poor ("you cows of Bashan" who trample the needy), closely echoing Isaiah's image of feet trampling the poor.
- Amos 5:11 (verbal): Accuses the powerful of trampling the poor and exacting from them, using language very similar to Isaiah's depiction of the oppressed being trodden underfoot.
- Proverbs 22:22 (verbal): Direct injunction against exploiting or crushing the poor and needy—addresses the same wrongdoing Isaiah 26:6 describes being inflicted on the poor.
- Micah 2:1-2 (thematic): Describes covetous leaders who seize land and oppress the needy—a thematic parallel to Isaiah's rebuke of trampling and exploitation of the poor.
- Isaiah 10:1-2 (thematic): Pronounces woe on unjust legal decrees that rob the poor of justice; thematically linked as a critique of societal oppression that tramples the weak.
Alternative generated candidates
- The feet of the poor, the steps of the needy, shall trample it.
- He will trample it down—foot upon foot—the feet of the poor, the tracks of the needy.
Isa.26.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ארח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לצדיק: PREP
- מישרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ישר: ADJ,m,sg
- מעגל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- צדיק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תפלס: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Prov.3:6 (verbal): God 'makes straight' or 'smooth' the paths of those who trust him—very close verbal parallel to Isa 26:7's 'you make the way of the righteous straight/level.'
- Isa.40:3 (structural): Same metaphor of preparing/making straight a way or highway; Isaiah 40:3's call to 'make straight the way of the LORD' echoes Isa 26:7's image of God leveling the righteous' path.
- Ps.37:23-24 (thematic): Speaks of the LORD establishing and securing a righteous person's steps so they do not finally fall—akin to Isa 26:7's assurance that the righteous' way is made level/safe by God.
- Ps.119:105 (thematic): Portrays God's word as lamp/light for the path—a related motif of divine guidance that keeps the believer's way straight and secure, resonant with Isa 26:7's smoothing of the righteous' road.
- Isa.35:8 (allusion): Describes a prepared 'highway' called the Way of Holiness where the transformed/holy travel—echoes Isa 26:7's imagery of a specially made, level way for the righteous.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will make a level path for the righteous; the way of the upright you will make straight.
- The way of the righteous is level; you make straight the path of the upright.
Isa.26.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- אף: ADV
- ארח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משפטיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- קוינוך: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,pl,obj2ms
- לשמך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,m,sg
- ולזכרך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- תאות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:9 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same context — both verses express the soul’s longing for God and seeking Him, using similar language of desire and pursuit.
- Psalm 119:20 (thematic): Both speak of the soul’s intense longing for God’s ways/word; Isaiah’s ‘desire of the soul’ parallels the psalmist’s craving for God’s ordinances.
- Psalm 130:5 (verbal): Shares the motif and wording of waiting with the soul for the LORD — ‘I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,’ echoing Isaiah’s waiting for God’s judgments.
- Lamentations 3:25–26 (thematic): Both emphasize the blessedness of waiting for and seeking the LORD; Lamentations highlights that the LORD is good to those who wait for him, resonating with Isaiah’s trustful waiting.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yea, in the way of your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for you; the desire of our soul is for your name and for the remembrance of you.
- Indeed, the way of your judgments, O LORD, is desired; for the honor of your name and your remembrance the soul longs.
Isa.26.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- נפשי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- אויתיך: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בלילה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אף: ADV
- רוחי: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cs
- בקרבי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- אשחרך: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- כאשר: CONJ
- משפטיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- לארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צדק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למדו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- תבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 42:1-2 (thematic): Both use the imagery of the soul longing for God (panting/thirsting) and seeking God longingly, especially in times of distress or night.
- Psalm 63:1 (thematic): Expresses an earnest, soul‑level seeking of God and thirst for him, paralleling Isaiah’s nocturnal yearning for the Lord.
- Psalm 119:147 (verbal): The psalmist rises early/before dawn to cry out and seek God, echoing Isaiah’s language of seeking God 'early' in the morning.
- Isaiah 26:8 (structural): Immediate context within the same poem: both verses speak of waiting for God in the way of his judgments and the soul’s desire for the Lord, linking longing with the path of God’s statutes.
- Deuteronomy 4:6 (thematic): States that when God’s statutes/judgments are known among the peoples, they learn wisdom/righteousness—paralleling Isaiah’s claim that when God’s judgments are on the earth, its inhabitants learn righteousness.
Alternative generated candidates
- My soul longs for you by night; yea, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn— for when your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
- My soul longs for you by night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
Isa.26.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יחן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- רשע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בל: PART
- למד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- צדק: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- נכחות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יעול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ובל: CONJ
- יראה: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- גאות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 73:3-12 (thematic): The psalmist wrestles with the prosperity and ease of the wicked and the moral blindness that accompanies it, echoing Isaiah's link between the success/peace of the wicked and a failure to learn righteousness or fear God.
- Psalm 36:1 (verbal): Uses near-verbatim language and idea — 'there is no fear of God before his eyes' — paralleling Isaiah's statement that the wicked do not fear the majesty of the LORD.
- Habakkuk 1:4 (thematic): Describes how the ascendancy of the wicked paralyzes justice and perverts righteousness, paralleling Isaiah's observation that when the wicked prevail people do not learn or practice righteousness.
- Proverbs 29:2 (structural): Notes the social effect of wicked rule ('when the wicked are in authority...'), paralleling Isaiah's social/political claim that the triumph or ease of the wicked undermines righteousness among the people.
- Amos 6:1 (thematic): Condemns those 'at ease' in Zion whose complacency and security reflect moral failure; resonates with Isaiah's critique that the complacency/ease of the wicked results in a lack of righteousness and fear of God.
Alternative generated candidates
- A wicked man keeps aloof and will not learn righteousness; even in the land of uprightness he acts presumptuously and does not fear the majesty of the LORD.
- The wicked are obstinate and do not learn righteousness in the land; in the presence of uprightness they act corruptly and do not fear the majesty of the LORD.
Isa.26.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- רמה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- בל: PART
- יחזיון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יחזו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- ויבשו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- קנאת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- עם: PREP
- אף: ADV
- אש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צריך: ADJ,m,sg
- תאכלם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Nahum 1:6 (thematic): Describes God’s irresistible wrath as consuming like fire and impossible to stand against, echoing Isaiah’s motif of the Lord’s anger consuming peoples.
- Zephaniah 3:8 (verbal): Speaks of the Lord rising up to the prey and ‘pouring out’ his indignation and ‘all his fierce anger’ on the nations — language closely parallel to Isaiah’s image of God’s lifted hand and poured-out wrath.
- Jeremiah 25:15 (verbal): God commands Jeremiah to take the cup of the wine of his fury and ‘pour it out’ on the nations — a similar metaphor of divine wrath being poured out upon peoples as in Isa 26:11.
- Psalm 7:11-13 (thematic): Portrays God as a righteous judge whose anger is against the wicked, whetting weapons and sending burning arrows — thematically related to Isaiah’s depiction of divine anger that brings shame and devastation on peoples.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, your hand is lifted up; they do not see— let them see and be ashamed; the peoples' envy—indeed, a fire shall consume them.
- O LORD, lift up your hand— they will not see; let them see and be ashamed—the envy of nations; yes, fire will consume them.
Isa.26.12 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- תשפת: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- שלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- כי: CONJ
- גם: ADV
- כל: DET
- מעשינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUFF,1,pl
- פעלת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לנו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:3 (structural): Close contextual parallel within the same chapter: God as the source of ‘perfect peace’ for the trusting soul, reinforcing the theme of God granting peace to his people.
- Psalm 29:11 (thematic): Explicit affirmation that the LORD gives strength and ‘bless[es] his people with peace,’ echoing Isaiah’s claim that Yahweh has granted peace to Israel.
- Isaiah 57:19 (verbal): God’s proclamation of ‘peace, peace’ and restorative action toward those near and far parallels Isaiah’s declaration that the LORD has effected peace and accomplished the people’s works.
- Psalm 147:14 (thematic): Speaks of God making peace within the borders of the people and blessing them—shares the motif of divine bestowal of peace upon the community.
- Philippians 4:7 (thematic): New Testament echo of divine peace given to believers—‘the peace of God’ that guards hearts and minds corresponds to the OT theme of God furnishing peace to his people.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, you will ordain peace for us; for you also have wrought all our works for us.
- O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have wrought for us all our works.
Isa.26.13 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- בעלונו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1pl
- אדנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- זולתך: PREP+2ms
- לבד: PREP
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נזכיר: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- שמך: NOUN,m,sg,cs,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:8 (verbal): Asserts the exclusivity of YHWH's name and glory ('I am the LORD; that is my name; I will not give my glory to another'), paralleling the vow to mention only the LORD's name.
- Exodus 20:3 (thematic): The command 'You shall have no other gods before me' echoes the theme of exclusive allegiance expressed in Isaiah 26:13 ('other lords besides you have ruled over us; but by you only we mention your name').
- Psalm 22:22 (structural): Speaker's public declaration—'I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you'—parallels the commitment in Isaiah 26:13 to proclaim and mention the LORD's name alone.
- Jeremiah 10:6–7 (allusion): Affirms there is none like the LORD and that his name is great, reinforcing the idea of YHWH's unique sovereignty and the people’s exclusive invocation of his name as in Isaiah 26:13.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us; but to you alone will we make mention of your name.
- O LORD our God, other lords have had dominion over us—lords besides you; but only by you will we make mention of your name.
Isa.26.14 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בל: PART
- יחיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- רפאים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בל: PART
- יקמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לכן: ADV
- פקדת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ותשמידם: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ותאבד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- זכר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:19 (structural): Within the same chapter this verse is directly contrasted by 26:19, which affirms that the dead will live and bodies will rise—creating a deliberate tension with 26:14's declaration of the dead not rising.
- Job 14:12–14 (verbal): Job speaks of man lying down and not rising until the heavens are no more and questions whether the dead can be brought back—language and theme parallel Isaiah's assertion that the dead do not live or rise.
- Psalm 115:17 (verbal): 'The dead do not praise the LORD' uses the same blunt expression about the dead's inactivity, echoing Isaiah's formulation that the dead do not live.
- Ecclesiastes 9:5–6 (thematic): Ecclesiastes emphasizes the dead's lack of knowledge or activity ('the dead know nothing'), reflecting the theme that death ends life and memory, similar to Isaiah's claim that their memory perishes.
- Ezekiel 37:1–14 (thematic): The vision of the valley of dry bones presents a theologically counterposed motif—God reviving corpses—serving as a theological foil to statements like Isaiah 26:14 about the dead not rising.
Alternative generated candidates
- The dead shall not live, the shades shall not rise— therefore you have visited and destroyed them, and have wiped out all memory of them.
- The dead do not live, the shades do not rise; therefore you have punished and destroyed them and wiped out all remembrance of them.
Isa.26.15 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יספת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לגוי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יספת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לגוי: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נכבדת: VERB,niphal,perf,2,m,sg
- רחקת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כל: DET
- קצוי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 54:2-3 (verbal): Both passages use imagery of enlargement and increase for God’s people (cf. 'enlarge the place of your tent'), linking divine action to the growth and exaltation of a nation or Zion.
- Isaiah 60:3 (thematic): Speaks of nations and kings coming to Zion and light reaching far nations—thematically parallel to God’s exaltation that extends to the ends of the earth.
- Psalm 22:27 (verbal): Explicitly declares that 'all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD,' echoing Isaiah’s language about reaching the ends/coasts of the earth.
- Psalm 98:3-4 (thematic): Affirms that the salvation and acts of God have been made known 'to the ends of the earth,' paralleling Isaiah’s claim that God has been glorified and extended to the world’s ends.
Alternative generated candidates
- You will add to the people, O LORD; you will add to the people; you will be glorified— you have extended to all the ends of the earth.
- You will add to the nation, O LORD; you will add to the nation—glorious are you—you have extended to all the ends of the earth.
Isa.26.16 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בצר: PREP
- פקדוך: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- צקון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מוסרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- למו: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:9 (thematic): Both verses depict people seeking the LORD and longing for him when his judgments or discipline are on the earth—distress/discipline prompts true seeking of God.
- Psalm 6:1-2 (verbal): Uses the language of rebuke/chastening and expresses prayer in time of God's displeasure, paralleling Isaiah's image of being seized by distress and addressed by God's correction.
- Psalm 119:67 (thematic): “Before I was afflicted I went astray” — affliction/discipline leads to repentance and renewed obedience, mirroring Isaiah's linking of chastening to turning to God.
- Psalm 119:71 (thematic): “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes” — explicitly treats affliction as instructive, echoing Isaiah's notion of chastening as God’s corrective teaching.
- Hebrews 12:5-11 (allusion): The NT reflects the same theological idea: divine chastening is God’s loving discipline that produces righteousness and prompts repentance—an explicit theological parallel to Isaiah’s portrayal.
Alternative generated candidates
- O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whispered plea when your discipline was upon them.
- O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a low cry when your chastening was upon them.
Isa.26.17 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כמו: PREP
- הרה: ADJ,f,sg
- תקריב: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- ללדת: VERB,qal,inf
- תחיל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- תזעק: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בחבליה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- כן: ADV
- היינו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- מפניך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,2m
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:8 (verbal): Uses the same childbirth/labor-pangs imagery to describe intense anguish at impending judgment—language closely parallels Isaiah 26:17.
- Isaiah 21:3 (verbal): Speaks of loins filled with pain and pangs like a woman in travail; an intra‑Isaian verbal parallel employing the birth‑pangs motif for distress.
- Jeremiah 4:31 (verbal): Jeremiah hears a cry like that of a woman in labor (the groaning of Zion); similar childbirth metaphor for communal suffering before calamity.
- Matthew 24:8 (thematic): Jesus summarizes preceding signs as 'the beginning of birth pains'—uses the same birth‑pangs motif to characterize national/cosmic distress and eschatological onset.
- Romans 8:22 (thematic): Paul portrays creation (and implicitly believers) as 'groaning' in the pains of childbirth—the cosmic/communal groaning theme echoes Isaiah 26:17's labor imagery.
Alternative generated candidates
- As a woman who is in labor draws near to give birth— she writhes and cries out in her pangs— so were we in your sight, O LORD.
- As when a woman drawing near to bear cries out in her pangs—so were we with you, O LORD.
Isa.26.18 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הרינו: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,pl
- חלנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,pl
- כמו: PREP
- ילדנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,pl
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישועת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- בל: PART
- נעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ובל: CONJ+PART
- יפלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ישבי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- תבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 26:17 (structural): Immediate context — uses the same childbirth/travail metaphor (pregnant, in pain) and forms the couplet with 26:18 describing a travail that brought forth nothing.
- Isaiah 26:19 (thematic): Contrasts 26:18's failed birth with the prophet's hope of revival/resurrection — the theme moves from frustrated birth to promised life for the dead/inhabitants.
- Romans 8:22 (thematic): Paul describes creation 'groaning' and 'travailing in pain' awaiting redemption — a similar image of frustrated birth awaiting final salvation.
- Revelation 12:2 (verbal): A woman 'being with child' and 'in pain to be delivered' — shares the concrete childbirth imagery used to depict cosmic or salvific struggle and eventual birth/delivery.
- Isaiah 66:7-8 (allusion): Uses birth/nation-birth imagery (a people brought forth in a day) — functions as a foil or complementary image to 26:18's unsuccessful birthing, highlighting themes of national/eschatological birth and deliverance.
Alternative generated candidates
- We were with child, we writhed; we gave birth to wind—no salvation came to the land; the inhabitants of the world were not delivered.
- We were with child; we writhed in labor; we gave birth to wind—there is no salvation. The earth did not bring it forth, and none of the inhabitants of the world fell.
Isa.26.19 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- יחיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- מתיך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- נבלתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- יקומון: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- הקיצו: VERB,qal,impv,2,_,pl
- ורננו: VERB,qal,impv,2,_,pl
- שכני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- טל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אורת: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- טלך: NOUN,m,sg,poss2ms
- וארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רפאים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תפיל: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Dan.12.2 (verbal): Daniel 12:2 uses similar language about the sleeping in the dust awakening to everlasting life—a clear verbal and thematic echo of the dead rising from the dust in Isaiah 26:19.
- Ezek.37:12-14 (thematic): Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones describes God raising the dead and giving them life and spirit, paralleling Isaiah’s promise that the dead will live and the earth will bring forth the dead.
- Hos.6:2 (allusion): Hosea 6:2 speaks of being revived/raised after a short time (‘after two days… on the third day’), reflecting the motif of restoration and revival found in Isaiah 26:19.
- John 5:28-29 (thematic): Jesus’ declaration that those in the tombs will hear his voice and come out echoes Isaiah’s prophetic hope for a divine act that awakens the dead to life.
- 1 Thess.4:14 (thematic): Paul’s teaching that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep shares Isaiah’s conviction that God acts to raise the dead and secure life for his people.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will bring forth the shades.
- Your dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; for your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the departed.
Isa.26.20 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- בא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בחדריך: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss2m
- וסגר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- דלתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss2m
- בעדך: PREP,2,m,sg
- חבי: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- כמעט: ADV
- רגע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- יעבר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- זעם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 27:5 (verbal): Speaks of God hiding the psalmist 'in his shelter' on the day of trouble—echoes Isaiah's command to 'hide' in rooms until divine wrath passes.
- Psalm 91:1-7 (verbal): The motif of dwelling in the shelter/shadow of the Most High and being kept safe from deadly peril parallels the refuge language of Isaiah 26:20.
- Exodus 12:22-23 (structural): During the Passover Israelites remain inside their houses with protection on the doorposts until the plague passes—structurally parallels 'enter your rooms and shut your doors... until the fury has passed.'
- Revelation 6:15-17 (thematic): Depicts people seeking to hide from the wrath of the Lamb ('hide in caves and among the rocks')—a New Testament parallel to Isaiah's image of taking refuge from God's coming anger.
- Revelation 3:10 (allusion): Christ's promise to keep the church 'from the hour of trial' resonates with Isaiah's call to be hidden and protected until the period of divine judgment has passed.
Alternative generated candidates
- Come, my people, enter into your chambers; shut your doors about you; hide for a little while until the indignation passes.
- Go, my people; enter into your chambers and shut your doors behind you; hide for a little while until the wrath has passed.
Isa.26.21 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הנה: PART
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יצא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ממקומו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- לפקד: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- עון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- וגלתה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- דמיה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- תכסה: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- עוד: ADV
- על: PREP
- הרוגיה: NOUN,m,pl,def+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Revelation 6:10 (thematic): Martyrs cry for God to ‘avenge our blood’—echoing Isaiah’s theme of the Lord coming forth to punish and vindicate blood shed on the earth.
- Revelation 11:18 (thematic): Speaks of God’s coming to destroy those who destroy the earth and to repay the blood of his servants, paralleling Isaiah’s judgment motif and the earth’s exposure of slain blood.
- Genesis 9:5-6 (verbal): God’s demand for account for human blood (‘for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning’) resonates with Isaiah’s image of punishment for iniquity and retribution for bloodshed on the land.
- Isaiah 24:5-6 (structural): Within the same prophetic corpus: the land is defiled by transgression and its inhabitants face judgment—connects directly to Isaiah 26’s theme of earth revealing blood and divine punishment.
- Psalm 9:12 (thematic): Affirms that God ‘remembers’ and ‘does not forget’ the cry of those wronged and avenges blood—a close thematic parallel to the vindication and exposure of the slain in Isaiah 26:21.
Alternative generated candidates
- For behold, the LORD will come forth from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth; the earth will disclose the blood shed upon it and will no more cover its slain.
- For behold, the LORD will go forth from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth; the earth will disclose the blood shed upon it and will no longer cover its slain.
On that day this song shall be established in the land of Judah: "A strong city for us—salvation he will appoint; walls and bulwarks he will set up."
Open the gates, that a righteous nation that keeps faith may enter.
You will keep in steadfast peace—peace— the mind that is fixed on you, for he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD is an everlasting Rock.
For behold, the proud peoples' lofty city he will humiliate; he will lay it low—bring it down to the ground, and level it to the dust.
The feet of the poor shall trample it; the steps of the needy shall crush it.
The path of the righteous is level; you make smooth the way of the upright.
Yes—on the road of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and the remembrance of you are the desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for you at night; my spirit within me seeks you early. For when your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
The wicked are at peace and do not learn justice; in the land of uprightness they act perversely and do not fear the majesty of the LORD.
O LORD, your hand is lifted up—they do not see; they will see and be ashamed for the nations' envy; a consuming fire will devour your foes.
O LORD, you will establish peace for us, for you have worked all our ways for us.
O LORD our God, other lords besides you have ruled over us; but only by you will we call to mind your name.
The dead do not live; the departed do not rise. Therefore you have punished and destroyed them and made all remembrance of them perish.
O LORD, you have increased the nation—you have increased the nation; you are glorified—you have enlarged all the boundaries of the land.
O LORD, in distress they sought you; they poured out a whisper when your discipline was upon them.
As a woman with child draws near to give birth and cries out in her pangs, so we were before you, O LORD.
We have been with child, we have writhed in travail; we have given birth to wind—there is no salvation. The earth did not bring forth; and the inhabitants of the world are not born.
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust, for your dew is a dew of light, and the land of the dead shall give up its inhabitants.
Go, my people, enter into your rooms and shut your doors about you; hide for a little while until the indignation passes.
For behold, the LORD goes forth from his place to punish the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth; the earth will disclose the blood shed on it and will no longer cover its slain.