Isaiah 26 Study Notes: Judah’s Song of Trust and Resurrection Hope
Judah sings of a strong city walled by salvation and of the peace God gives to those who trust Him. The people long for God, confess that their own labor saved no one, and are promised that His dead will rise, then are told to hide briefly while He judges the earth.
General
In 26:12, to whom does the singer credit everything the people have accomplished?
Answer: To the LORD, who did it all for them
The singer is confident that the LORD will secure peace for His people, because all they have accomplished He has done for them (26:12). Even their faithfulness is His work. Though other masters had ruled them, they now confess His name alone (26:13). The New Testament speaks the same way: God works in believers both the desire and the doing of what pleases Him (Philippians 2:13), believers are God’s handiwork, made for good works He prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10), and Paul said his own hard work was really God’s grace at work in him (1 Corinthians 15:10).
- Isaiah 26:12-13 (BSB)“O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us. O LORD our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we confess.”The singer credits all the people’s accomplishments to the LORD and confesses His name alone.
- Philippians 2:13 (BSB)“For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”God is the one who works in believers to will and to act.
- Ephesians 2:10 (BSB)“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.”Believers are God’s workmanship, created for good works He prepared in advance.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 (BSB)“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”Paul credits his hard work to the grace of God that was with him.
Theological
To whom does 26:12 ascribe the achievements of God’s people?
Answer: To the LORD, who did it all for them
The confession of 26:12 is the logic of grace: whatever God’s people accomplish, He has wrought for them. Their obedience is real, but it is the fruit of His prior working, so the glory belongs to Him alone, as their exclusive confession of His name also shows (26:13). Paul makes the same point: God works in believers both the willing and the working (Philippians 2:13), they are His workmanship, created for good works prepared in advance (Ephesians 2:10), and Paul’s own labor was God’s grace with him (1 Corinthians 15:10).
- Isaiah 26:12-13 (BSB)“O LORD, You will establish peace for us. For all that we have accomplished, You have done for us. O LORD our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we confess.”The singer credits all the people’s accomplishments to the LORD and confesses His name alone.
- Philippians 2:13 (BSB)“For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.”God is the one who works in believers to will and to act.
- Ephesians 2:10 (BSB)“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.”Believers are God’s workmanship, created for good works He prepared in advance.
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 (BSB)“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”Paul credits his hard work to the grace of God that was with him.
General
In 26:17-18, what does the picture of labor pains that produce only wind show?
Answer: Their own striving had rescued no one at all
God had enlarged the nation and extended its borders for His own glory (26:15), yet in their distress the people sought the LORD and poured out a whispered prayer under His discipline (26:16). They compare themselves to a woman in labor who twists in pain and screams, yet delivers nothing but wind: for all their anguish they brought no deliverance or life to the world (26:17-18). Rescue must come from God, which is exactly what the next verse announces (26:19). Jonah confessed that rescue comes from the LORD (Jonah 2:9), and the psalmist teaches that human building and guarding are worthless unless God is the builder and keeper (Psalm 127:1).
- Isaiah 26:16-18 (BSB)“O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer. As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD. We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.”Under discipline the people prayed, yet their anguish was like labor that brought forth only wind.
- Jonah 2:9 (BSB)“But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!””Jonah confesses that salvation is from the LORD.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Unless the LORD builds and guards, human labor is in vain.
Theological
What does the image of 26:17-18 confess about Israel’s capacity to bring about salvation?
Answer: Their own striving had rescued no one at all
God had enlarged the nation for His own glory (26:15), and under His discipline the people prayed (26:16); their confession is stark: their labor pains produced only wind, and they accomplished no deliverance for the earth (26:17-18). Human effort cannot generate salvation; the following verse immediately turns to what God will do (26:19). Jonah’s confession that salvation belongs to the LORD (Jonah 2:9) and the psalmist’s teaching that all labor is vain without the LORD (Psalm 127:1) express the same truth.
- Isaiah 26:16-18 (BSB)“O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer. As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in pain, so were we in Your presence, O LORD. We were with child; we writhed in pain; but we gave birth to wind. We have given no salvation to the earth, nor brought any life into the world.”Under discipline the people prayed, yet their anguish was like labor that brought forth only wind.
- Jonah 2:9 (BSB)“But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You. I will fulfill what I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD!””Jonah confesses that salvation is from the LORD.
- Psalm 127:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.”Unless the LORD builds and guards, human labor is in vain.
General
True or False: According to 26:10, kindness given to a wicked person leads him to learn righteousness.
Answer: False
This is false. Verse 10 says the opposite: even when the wicked receive favor, they still do not learn righteousness, but keep acting unjustly in a land of uprightness and fail to see the LORD’s majesty. God’s hand is raised, yet they fail to notice it, until they see His zeal for His people and are ashamed (26:11). Favor alone does not change a heart set against God. Paul warns that those who despise God’s kindness, which is meant to lead to repentance, pile up wrath for themselves by their hard hearts (Romans 2:4-5), and Ecclesiastes observes that delayed punishment makes people bolder in evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
- Isaiah 26:10-11 (BSB)“Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!”Even when shown favor, the wicked do not learn righteousness or see the LORD’s raised hand.
- Romans 2:4-5 (BSB)“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”Those who despise God’s kindness store up wrath through their hard and unrepentant hearts.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11 (BSB)“When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.”When punishment is delayed, people become more set on doing evil, not less.
Theological
True or False: 26:10 teaches that favor given to a wicked person by itself produces righteousness in him.
Answer: False
This is false. The verse states that grace given to a wicked man does not teach him righteousness; he continues in injustice and does not perceive the LORD’s majesty, nor see His raised hand until shame overtakes him (26:10-11). God’s general kindness leaves the unrenewed heart unchanged. Paul describes the same hardness, in which God’s kindness is despised and wrath stored up (Romans 2:4-5), and Ecclesiastes notes how delayed sentence emboldens evil (Ecclesiastes 8:11).
- Isaiah 26:10-11 (BSB)“Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD. O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!”Even when shown favor, the wicked do not learn righteousness or see the LORD’s raised hand.
- Romans 2:4-5 (BSB)“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”Those who despise God’s kindness store up wrath through their hard and unrepentant hearts.
- Ecclesiastes 8:11 (BSB)“When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.”When punishment is delayed, people become more set on doing evil, not less.
General
What does God tell His people to do in 26:20 while His wrath passes?
Answer: Go indoors, close the doors, and stay hidden briefly
As the LORD leaves His dwelling place to bring the earth’s inhabitants to account for their sin, He tells His people to go into their rooms, shut the doors, and hide for a short time until the wrath is over (26:20-21). Many readers hear an echo of the Passover night, when Israel stayed inside behind blood-marked doors while the LORD passed through Egypt in judgment (Exodus 12:22-23). Then the earth will expose the blood shed on it and no longer hide its slain: God will bring all hidden violence to judgment (26:21). Abel’s blood cried out to God from the ground (Genesis 4:10), and the martyrs in Revelation ask how long until God judges and avenges their blood (Revelation 6:10).
- Isaiah 26:20-21 (BSB)“Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed. For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.”God’s people are told to shut themselves in until His wrath passes, as He comes to punish the earth’s iniquity.
- Exodus 12:22-23 (BSB)“Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”At the Passover Israel stayed inside behind the blood while the LORD passed through in judgment.
- Genesis 4:10 (BSB)““What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”Abel’s shed blood cried out to God from the ground, as the earth will reveal its bloodshed.
- Revelation 6:10 (BSB)“And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?””The martyrs ask God how long until He judges the earth and avenges their blood.
Theological
What instruction does 26:20 give God’s people in view of the judgment of 26:21?
Answer: Go indoors, close the doors, and stay hidden briefly
The LORD’s coming in judgment on the earth’s iniquity (26:21) is preceded by a word of shelter for His people: go inside, close the doors, and stay hidden briefly until wrath is over (26:20). Many readers hear an echo of the Passover, when Israel stayed inside behind the blood while the LORD passed through in judgment (Exodus 12:22-23). The judgment itself is just: the earth will disclose the bloodshed it has hidden, as Abel’s blood cried from the ground (Genesis 4:10) and the martyrs plead for God to avenge them (Revelation 6:10).
- Isaiah 26:20-21 (BSB)“Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed. For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.”God’s people are told to shut themselves in until His wrath passes, as He comes to punish the earth’s iniquity.
- Exodus 12:22-23 (BSB)“Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”At the Passover Israel stayed inside behind the blood while the LORD passed through in judgment.
- Genesis 4:10 (BSB)““What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”Abel’s shed blood cried out to God from the ground, as the earth will reveal its bloodshed.
- Revelation 6:10 (BSB)“And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?””The martyrs ask God how long until He judges the earth and avenges their blood.
General
According to 26:9, what happens when God judges the earth?
Answer: People everywhere come to learn what is right
The righteous walk a level path that God makes smooth, and they wait for Him, longing for His name by night and seeking Him at dawn (26:7-9). They welcome His judgments because when God acts in judgment, people everywhere come to learn what is right (26:9). The psalmist says affliction did him good, teaching him God’s statutes (Psalm 119:71), and David longed for God the way one thirsts in a land without water (Psalm 63:1). Revelation pictures all nations coming to worship God because His just deeds are made known (Revelation 15:4).
- Isaiah 26:8-9 (BSB)“Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls. My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.”The singer longs for God by night and at dawn, for His judgments teach the world righteousness.
- Psalm 119:71 (BSB)“It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.”The psalmist says affliction was good for him because it taught him God’s statutes.
- Psalm 63:1 (BSB)“A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.”David earnestly seeks God and thirsts for Him, as the singer longs for Him.
- Revelation 15:4 (BSB)“Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.””All nations worship God because His righteous acts have been revealed.
Theological
In 26:8-9, what does the singer say results from God’s judgments in the earth?
Answer: People everywhere come to learn what is right
The singer’s longing for God, night and dawn (26:8-9), is joined to a conviction about God’s judgments: when they come on the earth, the world’s people are taught righteousness (26:9). Judgment is not only punitive but revelatory; it displays God’s justice and instructs. The psalmist confesses that affliction taught him God’s statutes (Psalm 119:71), David’s thirst for God in the wilderness parallels the singer’s longing (Psalm 63:1), and Revelation sees the nations worshiping because God’s righteous acts are revealed (Revelation 15:4).
- Isaiah 26:8-9 (BSB)“Yes, we wait for You, O LORD; we walk in the path of Your judgments. Your name and renown are the desire of our souls. My soul longs for You in the night; indeed, my spirit seeks You at dawn. For when Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.”The singer longs for God by night and at dawn, for His judgments teach the world righteousness.
- Psalm 119:71 (BSB)“It was good for me to be afflicted, that I might learn Your statutes.”The psalmist says affliction was good for him because it taught him God’s statutes.
- Psalm 63:1 (BSB)“A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.”David earnestly seeks God and thirsts for Him, as the singer longs for Him.
- Revelation 15:4 (BSB)“Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.””All nations worship God because His righteous acts have been revealed.
General
In 26:5-6, whose feet trample the lofty city God has brought down?
Answer: Those who had been poor and oppressed
God humbles those who live on the heights and brings their proud city down to the dust, and the very people it once crushed, the poor and oppressed, now walk over its ruins (26:5-6). This pattern of reversal runs through Scripture. Hannah sang that the LORD lifts the needy out of the ash heap and gives them a seat among nobles (1 Samuel 2:8), Isaiah announced that human pride will be humbled so that the LORD alone is exalted (2:11), and Mary praised God for bringing down rulers and lifting up the lowly (Luke 1:52).
- Isaiah 26:5-6 (BSB)“For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust. Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.”God brings the lofty city down, and the poor and oppressed walk over it.
- 1 Samuel 2:8 (BSB)“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.”Hannah praises the LORD for raising the poor and seating them among princes.
- Isaiah 2:11 (BSB)“The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”Isaiah announces that proud humanity will be humbled and the LORD alone exalted.
- Luke 1:52 (BSB)“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.”Mary praises God for pulling down rulers and exalting the humble.
Theological
According to 26:5-6, whose feet tread down the exalted city after God humbles it?
Answer: Those who had been poor and oppressed
The song celebrates a divine reversal: God casts down the lofty city, and the oppressed and poor trample it underfoot (26:5-6). The humbling of the proud and the lifting of the lowly is a consistent mark of God’s rule. Hannah’s song (1 Samuel 2:8), Isaiah’s own day-of-the-LORD oracle in which human pride is humbled and the LORD alone exalted (2:11), and Mary’s song (Luke 1:52) all celebrate the same pattern.
- Isaiah 26:5-6 (BSB)“For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust. Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the steps of the poor.”God brings the lofty city down, and the poor and oppressed walk over it.
- 1 Samuel 2:8 (BSB)“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.”Hannah praises the LORD for raising the poor and seating them among princes.
- Isaiah 2:11 (BSB)“The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.”Isaiah announces that proud humanity will be humbled and the LORD alone exalted.
- Luke 1:52 (BSB)“He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.”Mary praises God for pulling down rulers and exalting the humble.
General
According to 26:3, why is the person whose mind is fixed on God kept in complete peace?
Answer: Because that person relies on God
The song promises that God guards in complete peace the person whose mind is steady, and it gives the reason: that person trusts in Him (26:3). The call follows to keep trusting the LORD for all time, since He is the eternal Rock, a foundation that never moves (26:4). Peace here is God’s gift to faith, not a reward for a life without trouble. The psalmist describes the righteous person as not fearing bad news because his heart is steady in trusting the LORD (Psalm 112:7). Paul promises that God’s peace will guard the hearts and minds of those who are in Christ (Philippians 4:7), and he grounds peace with God in being justified through faith (Romans 5:1).
- Isaiah 26:3-4 (BSB)“You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”God keeps in perfect peace the one who trusts Him, for the LORD is the eternal Rock.
- Psalm 112:7 (BSB)“He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”The righteous person’s heart is steady because it trusts in the LORD.
- Philippians 4:7 (BSB)“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”God’s peace guards the hearts and minds of believers in Christ Jesus.
- Romans 5:1 (BSB)“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”Peace with God comes through being justified by faith.
Theological
What ground does 26:3-4 give for the perfect peace God grants the steadfast mind?
Answer: Because that person relies on God
The peace of 26:3 is God’s work (You will keep) and its stated ground is trust: the steady mind rests on God, and He keeps it whole. The exhortation of 26:4 rests that trust on God’s own nature as the everlasting Rock. Faith receives peace; it does not earn it. The same pattern appears in the righteous heart that is steadfast because it trusts the LORD (Psalm 112:7), in God’s peace guarding believers’ hearts and minds in Christ (Philippians 4:7), and in the peace with God that follows from justification by faith (Romans 5:1).
- Isaiah 26:3-4 (BSB)“You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.”God keeps in perfect peace the one who trusts Him, for the LORD is the eternal Rock.
- Psalm 112:7 (BSB)“He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.”The righteous person’s heart is steady because it trusts in the LORD.
- Philippians 4:7 (BSB)“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”God’s peace guards the hearts and minds of believers in Christ Jesus.
- Romans 5:1 (BSB)“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”Peace with God comes through being justified by faith.
General
In the song of 26:1-2, what serves as the walls of the strong city?
Answer: Salvation that God Himself has set in place
Isaiah gives a song for Judah to sing in that day. The city is strong, but not because of stonework: God has made salvation its walls and defenses, and its gates open to a righteous nation that keeps faith (26:1-2). Isaiah later promises a day when the walls of Zion, God’s city Jerusalem, will be named Salvation and its gates Praise (60:18). The psalmist compares those who trust the LORD to Mount Zion, which stands firm forever (Psalm 125:1), and Hebrews describes believers as seeking a coming city rather than a lasting one here (Hebrews 13:14).
- Isaiah 26:1-2 (BSB)“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts. Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful.”Judah’s song celebrates a strong city with salvation for its walls and open gates for the faithful.
- Isaiah 60:18 (BSB)“No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”Isaiah later pictures Zion’s walls named Salvation and its gates Praise.
- Psalm 125:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.”Those who trust the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.
- Hebrews 13:14 (BSB)“For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”Believers look for the lasting city that is still to come.
Theological
According to 26:1, what forms the walls and ramparts of the city in Judah’s song?
Answer: Salvation that God Himself has set in place
The security of the city rests on God, not on soldiers: God appoints salvation itself to be its walls and outer defenses, and the gates open for a righteous, faithful nation (26:1-2). Isaiah develops the same image when Zion’s walls are named Salvation and its gates Praise (60:18). Those who trust the LORD share Zion’s stability (Psalm 125:1), and believers look ahead to the lasting city that is still to come (Hebrews 13:14).
- Isaiah 26:1-2 (BSB)“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation is established as its walls and ramparts. Open the gates so a righteous nation may enter—one that remains faithful.”Judah’s song celebrates a strong city with salvation for its walls and open gates for the faithful.
- Isaiah 60:18 (BSB)“No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.”Isaiah later pictures Zion’s walls named Salvation and its gates Praise.
- Psalm 125:1 (BSB)“A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.”Those who trust the LORD are as secure as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved.
- Hebrews 13:14 (BSB)“For here we do not have a permanent city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”Believers look for the lasting city that is still to come.
General
How does 26:19 differ from what 26:14 says about the dead?
Answer: God’s own dead will rise, while the tyrants will not
The former masters who ruled God’s people are dead and gone; they will not rise, and God has wiped out their memory (26:13-14). But of God’s people the song says the opposite: His dead will live and their bodies will be raised. Those lying in the dust are called to wake and shout for joy, for God’s dew will make the earth give back her dead (26:19). This is a hope of bodily resurrection. Daniel says many sleeping in the earth’s dust will wake (Daniel 12:2), Jesus said everyone in the graves will hear the Son’s voice and leave their tombs (John 5:28-29), and Paul says believers who have died will be raised first when the Lord comes (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
- Isaiah 26:14 (BSB)“The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.”The tyrants who once ruled are dead and will not rise; God has wiped out their memory.
- Isaiah 26:19 (BSB)“Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.”God’s dead will live and their bodies rise; those in the dust are called to wake and sing.
- Daniel 12:2 (BSB)“And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.”Daniel foresees many who sleep in the dust awaking, some to everlasting life.
- John 5:28-29 (BSB)“Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”Jesus says all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (BSB)“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.”Paul says the dead in Christ will rise when the Lord descends from heaven.
Theological
What contrast between 26:14 and 26:19 frames Isaiah’s resurrection hope?
Answer: God’s own dead will rise, while the tyrants will not
The oppressors of 26:14 are departed spirits who will not rise; God has destroyed them and their memory. The covenant people of 26:19 receive the opposite promise: the dead who belong to God will live again, their bodies raised, and those dwelling in the dust are summoned to awake and sing, as the earth gives up her dead under God’s life-giving dew. Isaiah here sets out the hope of bodily resurrection for God’s people. Daniel speaks of the same awakening from the dust (Daniel 12:2), Jesus affirms the coming hour when all in the graves will come out (John 5:28-29), and Paul places the resurrection of believers who have died at the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
- Isaiah 26:14 (BSB)“The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.”The tyrants who once ruled are dead and will not rise; God has wiped out their memory.
- Isaiah 26:19 (BSB)“Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.”God’s dead will live and their bodies rise; those in the dust are called to wake and sing.
- Daniel 12:2 (BSB)“And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.”Daniel foresees many who sleep in the dust awaking, some to everlasting life.
- John 5:28-29 (BSB)“Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.”Jesus says all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (BSB)“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.”Paul says the dead in Christ will rise when the Lord descends from heaven.