Isaiah 26:11

11 O LORD, thy hand is lifted up, but they see it not. Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.

Isaiah 26:11 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 26:11

Lord, [when] thy hand is lifted up, they will not see,
&c.] Or, "thy high hand they will not see" ^F25; when it is exalted, and become glorious in power, in punishing wicked men; though the punishment is visible, yet they will not consider that it comes from the hand of God, but attribute it to chance, misfortune, or second causes, ( Psalms 28:5 ) or when the hand the Lord is manifest in doing good to his own people, in delivering them out of their oppressions, and the hands of their oppressors; in reviving his cause and interest, and enlarging the kingdom of his Son; they will not see, own, and acknowledge the power and glory of it. The Targum favours this latter sense,

``Lord, when thou shall be revealed in thy power to do good to them that fear thee, there will be no light to the enemies of thy people:''

[but] they shall see;
whether they will or not; the judgments of God will be manifest, both in his vengeance on antichrist, and in glorifying his own people: and be ashamed for [their] envy at the people;
their envy at the happiness and prosperity of the Lord's people; their malice towards them, and persecution of them: or, "for the zeal of thy people" ^F26; not for the zeal of the people to God, but for the zeal of the Lord to them; when they shall see him zealously affected to them, and concerned for them; as they shall see it, whether they will or not; they will then be confounded and ashamed, when he will vindicate his own people, and right their wrongs, and avenge their enemies; so the Targum,

``the revenge of thy people shall cover them:''

yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them:
or, "fire shall devour them, thine enemies" ^F1; the wrath of God, which is like unto fire; or, fire out of the mouth of the witnesses, ( Revelation 11:5 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F25 (Nwyzxy lb Kdy hmr) "elatam tuam manum non cernunt", Castalio; "celsitudinem manuum tuarum nequaquam vident", Syriac version.
F26 (Me tanq) "zelum populi tui"; so some in Vatablus; "zelum erga populum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
F1 (Mlkat Kyru va) "ignis hostes tuos consumet eos", Pagninus, Vatablus, "comedet eos", Montanus.

Isaiah 26:11 In-Context

9 My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

10 If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals perversely and does not see the majesty of the LORD.

11 O LORD, thy hand is lifted up, but they see it not. Let them see thy zeal for thy people, and be ashamed. Let the fire for thy adversaries consume them.

12 O LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us, thou hast wrought for us all our works.

13 O LORD our God, other lords besides thee have ruled over us, but thy name alone we acknowledge.