Isaiah 5:26

26 And he shall raise [up] a sign among nations afar, and he shall hiss to him from the ends of [the] earth; and lo! he shall hasten, and shall come swiftly. (And he shall raise up a sign among the nations far away, and he shall whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and lo! they shall make haste, and shall swiftly come.)

Isaiah 5:26 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 5:26

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far,
&c.] Not to the Chaldeans or Babylonians, for they were not nations, but one nation, and were a people near; but to the Romans, who consisted of many nations, and were afar off, and extended their empire to the ends of the earth; these, by one providence or another, were stirred up to make an expedition into the land of Judea, and besiege Jerusalem: and this lifting up of an ensign is not, as sometimes, for the gathering and enlisting of soldiers, or to prepare them for the battle, or to give them the signal when to begin the fight; but as a direction to decamp and proceed on a journey, on some expedition: and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth,
or "to him" ^F9; the king, or general of them, wherever he is, even though at the end of the earth: and the phrase denotes the secret and powerful influence of divine Providence, in moving upon the hearts of the Romans, and their general, to enter upon such a design against the Jews; and which was as easily done as for one man to hiss or call to another; or as for a shepherd to whistle for his sheep; to which the allusion seems to be; the Lord having the hearts of all in his hands, and can turn them as he pleases, to do his will: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly;
or "he shall come"; the king with his army; and so the Targum paraphrases it;

``and behold, a king with his army shall come swiftly, as light clouds;''

this shows the swift and sudden destruction that should come upon the Jews; and is an answer to their scoffs, ( Isaiah 5:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (wl) "ei", Vatablus; Montanus; "illi", Cocceius; "ad se", Junius & Tremellius.

Isaiah 5:26 In-Context

24 For this thing, as the tongue of fire devoureth stubble, and the heat of flame burneth, so the root of them shall be as a dead spark, and the seed of them shall ascend as dust; for they casted away the law of the Lord of hosts, and blasphemed the speech of the Holy of Israel (for they threw away the Law of the Lord of hosts, and blasphemed the word of the Holy One of Israel).

25 Therefore the strong vengeance of the Lord was wroth against his people, and he stretched forth his hand on it, and smote it (and he stretched forth his hand against them, and struck them down); and (the) hills were troubled, and the dead bodies of them were made as a turd in the midst of streets. In all these things the strong vengeance of him was not turned away, but yet his hand was stretched forth.

26 And he shall raise [up] a sign among nations afar, and he shall hiss to him from the ends of [the] earth; and lo! he shall hasten, and shall come swiftly. (And he shall raise up a sign among the nations far away, and he shall whistle for them to come from the ends of the earth; and lo! they shall make haste, and shall swiftly come.)

27 None is failing neither travailing in that host; he shall not nap, neither sleep, neither the girdle of his reins shall be undone, neither the lace of his shoe shall be broken. (No one is failing, or stumbling, in that army; no one is napping, or sleeping, nor is the girdle of his loins undone, nor is his shoe lace broken.)

28 His arrows be sharp, and all his bows be bent; the hoofs of his horses be as flint, and his wheels be as the fierceness of tempest. (Their arrows be sharp, and all their bows be bent; the hooves of their horses be like flint, and their wheels be like the fierceness of a tempest.)