Isaiah 26:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust.

NIV: He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust.

NASB: For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.

CSB: For he has humbled those who live in lofty places -- an inaccessible city. He brings it down; he brings it down to the ground; he throws it to the dust.

NLT: He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust.

KJV: For 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.

NKJV: For He brings down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust.

The prophet's song has declared why the Lord's people must place full trust in Him. Reliance on the Lord makes it possible for righteous nations to enter His strong city. It also brings perfect peace to those whose minds are focused on Him. This peace is due to the Lord being their unchanging foundation (Isaiah 26:1–4).

Why would anyone not put their full trust in the Lord? We may be tempted to trust more immediate solutions to our problems. Judah's most pressing concern in Isaiah's day was the threat of the Assyrian Empire. Judah's leaders were tempted to solve that problem by making alliances with the various nations around them. Isaiah's oracles against those nations were intended to show Judah just how untrustworthy each of those nations was as a source of salvation. He wanted to remove any shred of doubt that the Lord was the only true security Judah could rest in.

In chapters 24–25, Isaiah pictured all those opposed to the Lord, or to Israel, as a city. He was portraying a kind of "world city" that appeared as an opposing, lofty, unbeatable fortress. The Lord, in His future judgment, will devastate that "world city" and leave it in ruins (Isaiah 24:9, 12; 25:2).

Once more this lofty city is described. The Lord has humbled and crushed the inhabitants. He shows them as scattered in the wind as dust. Those who hoped in that city to give them security will find their trust misplaced. This raises a question for anyone reading these words today: what are we trusting to provide peace and lasting security for our lives? What makes us hesitate to put full trust in the Lord?

Isaiah 26:1–15 celebrates the Lord's future victory over wickedness on the earth and looks forward to the coming of God's judgment. Isaiah longs for that judgment to come. But the prophet knows the Lord gives perfect peace to all who stay focused on trusting Him. Only the Lord God remains of all those who attempted to rule over Israel.

Chapter 26 is a song to be sung in the land of Judah during the time of the Lord's reign as king over the earth. The towering city of wickedness has been replaced by the strong city of salvation. Isaiah waits, longing for the Lord to come and judge the sinfulness of the world. The Lord will bring peace to Israel for good. Their other rulers are dead and not worthy of remembering. The Lord's discipline has caused His people to turn back to Him. The dead among them will be resurrected after the fury of His judgment.

Chapter 26 is part of a larger section that includes chapters 24–27. The section of the book follows the descriptions of the Lord's judgment on the earth and the beginning of His kingdom through a song to be sung in Judah during that time. The wicked city of the world has been replaced with the city of salvation. Isaiah longs for the Lord to come and judge the earth. The prophet wants all to see the Lord's zeal for His own people by destroying His enemies. Isaiah remembers God's discipline and looks forward to the resurrection of the dead among His people.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).