Isaiah 5:26
in Isaiah 5He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss for them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly.
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:
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This verse in Isaiah 5
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe 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, συρισμασι, by a hiss or a whistle.” - Cyril, on this place; and to the same purpose Theodoret, ib.
This site's exposition
He lifts a banner for
on Isaiah 5:26-30
The chapter names the instrument of judgment without naming a nation, a banner lifted for "the distant nations." The older commentators read the sharpened arrows as the Assyrian army, named only in later chapters. The chapter that opened with a love song for a vineyard ends in "darkness and distress."
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
He [God] says the following about the Gentiles, those he was about to call together from the ends of the earth: "Behold, they shall come swiftly with speed." He says "swiftly" because of the hastening toward end times. He says "with speed" because they will not be weighed down by the weights of the ancient law. He says "they shall be filled" because it is a promise made only to those who hunger and thirst.
I Glorify God, even Jesus Christ, who has given you such wisdom. For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. Of this fruit we are by His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard for all ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church.
And he will raise a signal among the nations far away, and he will whistle for them from the ends of the earth, and behold, they will come quickly and swiftly. The Hebrews understand this passage to prophesy about the Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar, that by the will of God he was led into Judah and Jerusalem, and he destroyed the temple.
The Medieval Church1 voice
197. Second, the raising of the standard, and he will lift up a sign, that is, a standard: set up the sign in Zion. Strengthen yourselves, stay not: for I bring evil from the north, and great destruction (Jer 4:6). Third, the calling together of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
An ensign - To call them together for his service. From far - To the Chaldeans; for even Babylon is called a far country, chap. xxxix, 3. And he saith nations, because the Chaldean army was made up of several nations.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
7 For the vineyard of the L ORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry. See what variety of methods the great God takes to awaken sinners to repentance by convincing them of sin, and showing them their misery and danger by reason of it.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:29w-of-66
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far,....
Those who know him not are made use of to fulfil his counsel, when, by reason of their distance, they can scarcely be supposed to have any ends of their own to serve.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The ulterior fulfilment took place in the siege under Roman Titus. Compare "end of the earth" (De 28:49, &c.). So the pronoun is singular in the Hebrew, for "them," "their," "whose" (him, his, &c.), Isa 5:26-29; referring to some particular nation and person [HORSLEY].
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And 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 Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1-7; Isa 10:5-7; Isa 9:11; Isa 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 raising the standard, expecting that the nations would come at once. And will hiss unto them - This means that he would “collect” them together to accomplish his purposes. The expression is probably taken from the manner in which bees were hived. Theodoret and Cyril, on this place, say, that in Syria and Palestine, they who kept bees were able to draw them out of their hives, and conduct them into fields, and bring them back again, with the sound of a flute or the noise of hissing. It is certain also that the ancients had this idea respecting bees. Pliny (lib. xi. ch. 20) says: Gaudent plausu, atque tinnitu aeris, coque convocantur. ‘They rejoice in a sound, and in the tinkling of brass, and are thus called together.’ AElian (lib. v. ch. 13) says, that when they are disposed to fly away, their keepers make a musical and harmonious sound, and that they are thus brought back as by a siren, and restored to their hives. So Virgin says, when speaking of bees: Tinnitusque cie, et Matris quate cymbala circum. Georg. iv. 64. ‘On brazen vessels beat a tinkling sound, And shake the cymbals of the goddess round; Then all will hastily retreat, and fill The warm resounding hollow of their cell.’ Addison So Ovid: Jamque erat ad Rhodopen Pangaeaque flumina ventum, Aeriferae comitum cum crepuere manus. Ecce! novae coeunt volucres tinnitibus actae Quosque movent sonitus aera sequuntur apes. Fastor, lib. iii., 739. See also Columella, lib. x. ch. […]
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָֽשָׂא־ | venasa'- | and he will lift up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| נֵ֤ס | nes | a standard | H5251 → | 21 times |
| לַגּוֹיִם֙ | lagoyim | for the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| מֵרָח֔וֹק | merachok | from a distance | H7350 → | 84 times |
| וְשָׁ֥רַק | vesharak | and he will whistle | H8319 → | |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | for it | ||
| מִקְצֵ֣ה | miktzeh | from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| מְהֵרָ֖ה | meherah | quickly | H4120 → | |
| קַ֥ל | kal | swift | H7031 → | 13 times |
| יָבֽוֹא׃ | yavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
וְנָֽשָׂא־and he will lift up
venasa'-H5375 →656 times
נֵ֤סa standard
nesH5251 →21 times
לַגּוֹיִם֙for the nations
lagoyimH1471 →561 times
מֵרָח֔וֹקfrom a distance
merachokH7350 →84 times
וְשָׁ֥רַקand he will whistle
vesharakH8319 →
ל֖וֹfor it
lo
מִקְצֵ֣הfrom [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
מְהֵרָ֖הquickly
meherahH4120 →
קַ֥לswift
kalH7031 →13 times
יָבֽוֹא׃it will come
yavo'H935 →2568 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
Isaiah 11:12He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
it leads to
- Isaiah 43:6
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth—
- Isaiah 56:8
Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”
- Psalms 147:2
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.
- Zephaniah 3:10
From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me an offering.
- Zechariah 10:6
I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them.…
- Isaiah 43:6
Through
Deuteronomy 28:49The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:19
Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
- Jeremiah 48:40
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.
- Lamentations 4:19
Through
Zechariah 10:8I will whistle for them to gather, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they once were.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:18
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
- Isaiah 7:18
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet 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; Tertullian, AGAINST MARCION 4.15 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.