Isaiah 26:11
in Isaiah 26O 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!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see thy zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea, fire shall devour thine adversaries.
KJV
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.
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This verse in Isaiah 26
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up - This is an explanation of the sentiment expressed in the former verse. The lifting up of the hand here refers, doubtless, to the manifestations of the majesty and goodness of the Lord. They will not see - They are blind to all the exhibitions of power, mercy, and goodness. But they shall see - They shall yet be brought to recognize thy hand. They shall see thy favor toward thy children, and thy judgment on thy foes.
This site's exposition
Though grace is shown to the wicked man
on Isaiah 26:10-11
Verse ten answers verse nine's hope with its limit, favour shown the wicked does not by itself teach him righteousness. Barnes reads this as the case against mere leniency, kindness without judgment leaves the heart unchanged. The lifted hand in verse eleven goes unseen until the moment it falls.
This site's exposition
Your hand is upraised
The raised hand is the gesture of a blow about to fall, and Wesley reads the blindness as the same stubbornness shown under every stroke. Zeal is jealous love for a people. The enemies will see it at last in the fire.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Gregory of NazianzusON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:7 · Written before 390.
proposed
I know the glittering sword, and the blade made drunk in heaven, bidden to slay, to bring to nothing, to make childless and to spare neither flesh nor marrow nor bones. I know him who, though free from passion, meets us like a bear robbed of her cubs, like a leopard in the way of the Assyrians, not only those of that day, but if anyone now is an Assyrian in wickedness. Nor is it possible to escape the might and speed of his wrath when he watches over our impieties, and his jealousy, which knows to devour his adversaries, pursues his enemies to the death. I know the emptying, the making void, the making waste, the melting of the heart and knocking of the knees together;7 such are the punishments of the ungodly.
(Verse 11) Lord, let your hand be exalted, and let them not see: let them see, and let the jealousy of the people be confused, and let the fire devour your enemies. LXX: Lord, your arm is exalted, and they did not know, but those who know will be confounded: jealousy will seize the unlearned people, and now the fire will consume the adversaries.
A fire went before the Lord's coming when the hearts of the unfaithful seethed at the preaching of the prophets so that they were fired with the heat of anger, and they debated the murder of those preachers. So this is the fire that shall …
Note that there are two kinds of zeal, one full of love, the other full of hatred. The former is indicated in the words, "The zeal of your house has devoured me"; the latter, in the words, "Zeal has taken hold of the senseless people, and now fire shall devour your opponents."
The Medieval Church1 voice
606. Second, the prophet responds: Lord, let your hand be exalted. 607. Third, the Lord determines the spiritual punishment: let the envious people see, and be confounded: every eye shall see him (Rev 1:7), in the glory of his humanity, not of his divinity; and …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Will not see - And they are guilty of the same obstinate blindness when thou dost smite and punish them, which is commonly signified by lifting up the hand.
Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
lifted up--to punish the foes of God's people. They who will not see shall be made to "see" to their cost (Isa 5:12). their envy at the people--that is, "Thy people." LOWTH translates, "They shall see with confusion Thy zeal for Thy people." fire of . . . enemies--that is, the fire to which Thine enemies are doomed (Isa 9:18).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
O Lord, Your hand has been taken away I have seen many Aggadic Midrashim on the verses of the above section and the following, but they are not appropriate, either because of the grammatical forms of the language or because of the context of the verses.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Shall the wicked be favored who did not learn righteousness Should you favor the wicked Esau, who lived between two righteous men and did not learn righteousness?
Thou hast granted unto the wicked continuance, that verily they should return to the law; but they did not return, all the days that they lived;—that they should practise truth in the earth, but they dealt falsely: yea, they will not regard the praise of thy glory, O Lord!
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רָ֥מָה | ramah | it is raised | H7311 → | 190 times |
| יָדְךָ֖ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בַּל־ | bal- | not | H1077 → | 73 times |
| יֶחֱזָי֑וּן | yechezayun | they behold ! | H2372 → | 55 times |
| יֶחֱז֤וּ | yechezu | they will behold | H2372 → | 55 times |
| וְיֵבֹ֙שׁוּ֙ | veyevoshu | and they may be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| קִנְאַת־ | kinat- | [the] zeal of | H7068 → | 43 times |
| עָ֔ם | ʾam | a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אַף־ | ʾaf- | also | H637 → | 134 times |
| אֵ֖שׁ | ʾesh | [the] fire of | H784 → | 378 times |
| צָרֶ֥יךָ | tzareikha | opponents your | H6862 → | 109 times |
| תֹאכְלֵֽם׃ ס | tokhelem | it will consume them | H398 → | 810 times |
יְהוָ֛הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
רָ֥מָהit is raised
ramahH7311 →190 times
יָדְךָ֖hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
בַּל־not
bal-H1077 →73 times
יֶחֱזָי֑וּןthey behold !
yechezayunH2372 →55 times
יֶחֱז֤וּthey will behold
yechezuH2372 →55 times
וְיֵבֹ֙שׁוּ֙and they may be ashamed
veyevoshuH954 →127 times
קִנְאַת־[the] zeal of
kinat-H7068 →43 times
עָ֔םa people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
אַף־also
ʾaf-H637 →134 times
אֵ֖שׁ[the] fire of
ʾeshH784 →378 times
צָרֶ֥יךָopponents your
tzareikhaH6862 →109 times
תֹאכְלֵֽם׃ סit will consume them
tokhelemH398 →810 times
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
Psalms 86:17Show me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see and be ashamed; for You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
it leads to
- Psalms 41:10–11
But You, O LORD, be gracious to me and raise me up, that I may repay them.
- Judges 6:17
Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.
- Psalms 71:20–21
Though You have shown me many troubles and misfortunes, You will revive me once again. Even from the depths of the earth You will bring me back up.
- Psalms 71:9–13
Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.
- Psalms 40:1
I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.
- Psalms 41:10–11
Through
Hebrews 10:27but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 1:18
Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the Day of the LORD’s wrath. The whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy.” For indeed, He…
- Hebrews 2:3
how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
- Zephaniah 1:18
Through
Isaiah 5:24Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust; for they have rejected…
it leads to
- Job 18:16
The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
- Job 18:16
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.12; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 96:3; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON HIS FATHER'S SILENCE, ORATION 16:7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.