Isaiah 26:6

6 The foot of a poor man shall defoul it, and the steps of needy men shall defoul it. (The foot of the poor shall defile it, and the steps of the needy shall defile it.)

Isaiah 26:6 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 26:6

The foot shall tread it down
Trample upon it when brought down, laid low, and level with the ground, as mire is trodden in the streets, and straw for the dunghill; as grapes in the winepress, or grass by the feet of cattle: not the foot of a prince, as Aben Ezra observes, or of mighty men; but, as follows, [even] the feet of the poor, [and] the steps of the needy;
these are not the Israelites in a literal sense, as Kimchi explains it; but the spiritual Israel of God; the righteous, as the Targum paraphrases it; the saints of the most High, to whom the kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven will now be given, and who will be just come out of great tribulation; for the words suggest, that the people of God will be a poor and afflicted people, and very feeble, and sore distressed, a little before the destruction of antichrist; but as God has been always used to do his work by the poor and weak things of this world, by mean and feeble instruments, so he will now, and raise his poor and needy ones to a very high and exalted estate; all their enemies shall be subdued and crushed under their feet; see ( Malachi 4:3 ) ( Daniel 7:27 ) Jarchi interprets the feet of the poor of the feet of the King Messiah, according to ( Zechariah 9:9 ) .

Isaiah 26:6 In-Context

4 Ye have hoped in the Lord, in everlasting worlds, in the Lord God, strong without end. (Yea, hope ye in the Lord, forever, in the Lord God, who shall be strong forever.)
5 For he shall bow down them that dwell on high, and he shall make low an high city; he shall make it low till to the earth; he shall draw it down till to the dust. (For he shall bow down those who be proud, or be haughty, and he shall make low a high city; he shall make it low unto the ground; he shall draw it down unto the dust.)
6 The foot of a poor man shall defoul it, and the steps of needy men shall defoul it. (The foot of the poor shall defile it, and the steps of the needy shall defile it.)
7 The way of a just man is rightful, the path of a just man is rightful to go (on). (The way of the just is right, or is straightforward, yea, the path of the just is straight and clear to go on.)
8 And in the way of thy dooms, Lord, we suffered thee; thy name, and thy memorial is in desire of soul. (And in the way of thy judgements, Lord, we followed thee; thy name and the remembrance of thee be our hearts? desire.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.