Isaiah 26:1
in Isaiah 26In 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks.
KJV
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
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This verse in Isaiah 26
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In that day shall this song be sung - By the people of God, on their restoration to their own land. We have a strong city - Jerusalem. This does not mean that it was then strongly fortified, but that God would guard it, and that thus it would be strong. Jerusalem was easily capable of being strongly fortified Psa 25:2; but the idea here is, that Yahweh would be a protector, and that this would constitute its strength.
This site's exposition
We have a strong city
on Isaiah 26:1-3
The song opens with "We have a strong city", the answer to the lofty city of verse 5. Verse 3 gives the most quoted line, "You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind". Barnes notes that the Hebrew behind perfect peace doubles the word itself, shalom shalom.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Hence, if they find anyone outside, they beat, wound and rob him by not believing in the true flesh of Christ that was nailed to the cross, from whom true blood flowed when pierced by a lance, and by not believing in the true God …
For this reason, it seems to me that the wall represents the people who are acquainted with the one omnipotent God, having been brought near to the Word of the Father, about whom Isaiah prophesied, saying, "The Savior is our strong city. A wall and …
(Chapter 26, Verse 1) On that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: Our strong city, the Savior will set it as a wall and rampart. In that day, this song will be sung over the land of Judah: Behold, a strong city, our salvation will set up walls and bulwarks.
A commentator
Verecundus of JuncaCOMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EZEKIEL 5:1-2 · Written before 552.
proposed
When Hezekiah, the king of Judah and son of Ahaz, was gravely ill and had learned of his coming death by the prophecy of Isaiah, he turned his face to the wall and wept bitterly. Immediately the Lord in his mercy not only averted the …
The Medieval Church1 voice
597. In that day. In this part, he gives thanks for the justification of the people, and it is divided into two parts: in the first, he foretells the state of the just; in the second, he shows the fruit of justice: the old error …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The church is a strong city, for it has walls and bulwarks, or counterscarps, and those of God's own appointing; for he has, in his promise, appointed salvation itself to be its defence. Those that are designed for salvation will find that to be their protection, 1 Pet. i.
In that day - When God shall do such glorious works, as are described in the foregoing chapter. Sung - In the church of God. A city - Jerusalem, or the church, which is often compared to a city.
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
strong city--Jerusalem, strong in Jehovah's protection: type of the new Jerusalem (Ps 48:1-3), contrasted with the overthrow of the ungodly foe (Isa 26:4-7, 12-14; Re 22:2, 10-12, &c.). salvation . . . walls-- (Isa 60:18;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
We have a strong city - In opposition to the city of the enemy, which God hath destroyed, Isa 25:1-12 (note). See the note there. Salvation - for walls and bulwarks - חומת וחל chomsoth vachel, walls and redoubts, or the walls and the ditch. חל chel properly signifies the ditch or trench without the wall; see Kimchi. The same rabbin says, This song refers to the time of salvation, i.e., the days of the Messiah.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The city that was our strength, salvation shall He place The city of Jerusalem, which was always our strength from time immemorial, the Savior shall place salvation for its walls and its bulwark.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יוּשַׁ֥ר | yushar | it will be sung | H7891 → | 86 times |
| הַשִּׁיר־ | hashir- | the song | H7892 → | 59 times |
| הַזֶּ֖ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | a city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| עָז־ | ʾoz- | strength | H5794 → | 24 times |
| לָ֔נוּ | lanu | [belongs] to us | ||
| יְשׁוּעָ֥ה | yeshuah | salvation | H3444 → | 78 times |
| יָשִׁ֖ית | yashit | he sets | H7896 → | 83 times |
| חוֹמ֥וֹת | chomot | walls | H2346 → | 133 times |
| וָחֵֽל׃ | vachel | and a rampart | H2426 → |
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יוּשַׁ֥רit will be sung
yusharH7891 →86 times
הַשִּׁיר־the song
hashir-H7892 →59 times
הַזֶּ֖ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
עִ֣ירa city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
עָז־strength
ʾoz-H5794 →24 times
לָ֔נוּ[belongs] to us
lanu
יְשׁוּעָ֥הsalvation
yeshuahH3444 →78 times
יָשִׁ֖יתhe sets
yashitH7896 →83 times
חוֹמ֥וֹתwalls
chomotH2346 →133 times
וָחֵֽל׃and a rampart
vachelH2426 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 62:11Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, “Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.”
it leads to
- Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of…
- Matthew 21:5
“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
- John 12:15
“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion. See, your King is coming, seated on the colt of a donkey.”
- Revelation 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Isaiah 40:9–10
Go up on a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news. Raise your voice loudly, O Jerusalem, herald of good news. Lift it up, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of…
- Zechariah 9:9
Through
Zechariah 2:5For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
it leads to
- Zechariah 9:8
But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of those who march to and fro, and never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I keep watch with…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 9:8
Through
Isaiah 25:9And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us…
it leads to
- Psalms 27:14
Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!
- Genesis 49:18
I await Your salvation, O LORD.
- Psalms 27:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
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About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Aponius, EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 8:24-25; Aponius, EXPOSITION OF SONG OF SONGS 12:32; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah and Verecundus of Junca, COMMENTARY ON THE CANTICLE OF EZEKIEL 5:1-2.