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!
• English Standard Version (ESV)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!
• 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.

Context of Isaiah 5:26

24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes straw, and as chaff collapses into the flame, so their root will be like rot, and their blossom will go up like dust. For they have rejected the Torah of Adonai–Tzva’ot, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore Adonai’s anger is kindled against His people. When He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them, the hills trembled, and their carcasses were like refuse in the streets. For all this His anger is not turned away, yet His hand is still outstretched. He will lift up a banner to nations far off, and will whistle for them from the ends of the earth. Look! Swiftly, speedily they come! 27None will be weary and none stumble among them; none will slumber or sleep; no belt will be loose at the waist; no strap of sandals be broken. 28Their arrows are sharp and all their bows bent; their horse hooves will be like flint and their wheels like a 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 lift up a banner for the nations, and assemble the dispersed of Israel, and gather the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
• Isaiah 18:3All you inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, look! when a shofar is blown, listen!
• Jeremiah 51:27Raise a banner in the land! Blow a shofar among the nations! Consecrate the nations against her. Summon against her the kingdoms— Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Appoint a marshal against her. Bring horses up like rough locusts.
• Isaiah 7:18In that day Adonai will whistle for the fly at the source of the Nile of Egypt and for the bee in the land of Assyria.
• Zechariah 10:8I will signal for them and gather them. Surely I will redeem them and they will be as numerous as before.
• Isaiah 39:3Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah replied, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.”
• Deuteronomy 28:49“Adonai will raise up a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, just as the eagle swoops down—a nation whose language you will not understand,
• Psalms 72:8May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
• Jeremiah 5:15See, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you neither know nor understand what they say.
• Malachi 1:11“For from sunrise to its setting My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name with a pure grain offering, for My Name will be great among the nations,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
• Isaiah 30:16But you said, “No, we will flee on horses!” Therefore you will flee. And, “We will ride on swift horses!” Therefore your pursuers will be swift.
• Jeremiah 4:13See, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots like whirlwinds. His horses are swifter than eagles— “Oy ! We are ruined!”
• Lamentations 4:19Our pursuers were swifter than eagles of the sky; they pursued us over the mountains; they ambushed us in the wilderness.
• Joel 2:7They run like mighty men. They climb a wall like men of war. They each march in line, never deviating from their ways.
• Habakkuk 1:8Its horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Its horsemen come galloping. Its horsemen are coming from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to eat.

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