Isaiah 5:26

Isaiah 5:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
• New International Version (NIV)He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!
• New King James Version (NKJV)He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, And will whistle to them from the end of the earth; Surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
• New Living Translation (NLT)He will send a signal to distant nations far away and whistle to those at the ends of the earth. They will come racing toward Jerusalem.

Context of Isaiah 5:26

24Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still. He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come! 27None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken; 28their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses' hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.

Isaiah 5:26 word by word

וְנָֽשָׂא־נֵ֤ס לַגּוֹיִם֙ מֵרָח֔וֹק וְשָׁ֥רַק ל֖וֹ מִקְצֵ֣ה הָאָ֑רֶץ וְהִנֵּ֥ה מְהֵרָ֖ה קַ֥ל יָבֽוֹא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he will lift upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: raiseH5375
• an ensignנֵסnês · ensignH5251
• to the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• from farרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
• and will hissשָׁרַקshâraq · to whistleH8319
• unto them from the endקָצֶהqâtseh qêtseh · endH7097
• of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and, behold, they shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• with speedמְהֵרָהmehêrâh · hasteH4120
• swiftlyקַלqal · swiftH7031

Cross-references for Isaiah 5:26

• Isaiah 11:12He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
• Isaiah 18:3All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth, when a signal is raised on the mountains, look! When a trumpet is blown, hear!
• Jeremiah 51:27"Set up a standard on the earth; blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations for war against her; summon against her the kingdoms, Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a marshal against her; bring up horses like bristling locusts.
• Isaiah 7:18In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
• Zechariah 10:8"I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before.
• Isaiah 39:3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" Hezekiah said, "They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon."
• Deuteronomy 28:49The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand,
• Psalms 72:8May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
• Jeremiah 5:15Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say.
• Malachi 1:11For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
• Isaiah 30:16and you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
• Jeremiah 4:13Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles— woe to us, for we are ruined!
• Lamentations 4:19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles in the heavens; they chased us on the mountains; they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
• Joel 2:7Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.
• Habakkuk 1:8Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour.

Commentaries on Isaiah 5:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26He will - hiss "He will hist" - "The metaphor is taken from the practice of those that keep bees, who draw them out of their hives into the fields, and lead them back again, , by a hiss or a whistle." - Cyril, on this place; and to the same purpose Theodoret, ib. In Isaiah 7:18, the metaphor is more apparent, by being carried farther, where the hostile armies are expressed by the fly and the bee: - "Jehovah shall hist the fly That is in the utmost parts…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26And he will lift up an ensign … - The idea here is, that the nations of the earth are under his control, and that he can call whom he pleases to execute his purposes. This power over the nations he often claims; compare Isaiah 44:28; Isaiah 45:1-7; Isaiah 10:5-7; Isaiah 9:11; Isaiah 8:18. An “ensign” is the “standard,” or “flag” used in an army. The elevation of the standard was a signal for assembling for war. God represents himself here as simply…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-30Verses 24-30 Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking people, he can find instruments to be employed in it, as he…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26The signal was a banner raised on a long pole. It was often placed on a high hill so people could see it from far away (see also Isaiah 13:2; 18:3; 30:17). In Isaiah, the phrase a banner for the distant nations appears many times. Sometimes it calls nations to join in battle, as in this passage. In other places, it calls them to share in salvation (Isaiah 11:10, 12; 49:22; 62:10). The distant nations here refer to the Assyrians and Babylonians. God used…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. lift ... ensign--to call together the hostile nations to execute His judgments on Judea (Is 10:5-7; 45:1). But for mercy to it, in Is 11:12; 18:3. hiss--(Is 7:18). Bees were drawn out of their hives by the sound of a flute, or hissing, or whistling (Zec 10:8). God will collect the nations round Judea like bees (De 1:44; Psa 118:12). end of the earth--the widely distant subject races of which the Assyrian army was made up (Is 22:6). The ulterior…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 5:26

• Armies
• Backsliders
• Ensign
• Isaiah
• War

In the dictionaries

• Banner
• Cast
• Cord
• Cry
• Dry
• Ensign
• Join
• Lay
• Mighty
• Regard

Commentaries on Isaiah 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings