Isaiah 26 proclaims that true peace and lasting security are found only in trusting the Lord who reigns over history. During judgment and global upheaval described in the surrounding chapters, this song rises as a confession of faith from God’s redeemed people.
Isaiah uses song and poetic language to communicate theology in a way that engages both the heart and the mind. Scripture from Genesis to Revelation uses figures of speech and narrative patterns to shape theological truth. The Bible communicates through “inspired” (God breathed) literary forms that engage both heart and mind.”
In our studies I use the historical grammatical method of interpretation. The historical grammatical hermeneutic is a way of reading the Bible that asks two simple questions. What did the text mean to the original audience, and what do the words say in their original setting. It pays attention to history, culture, grammar, and literary style so the passage is understood as the author intended, before applying it to our lives today.
In this chapter God establishes a city not built by human strength but founded on righteousness, faithfulness, and trust. This chapter points beyond temporary deliverance to the reign of the Messiah and the resurrection hope that culminates in the restoration of Israel and blessing for the nations.
The peace promised in Isaiah 26 is not merely the absence of conflict but a settled wholeness that flows from communion with the God of Israel who reveals Himself fully as Father, Son, and Spirit, the echad (plural one or unity) of God.
V 1-2 A Strong City is Established by God – Isaiah opens with a song sung in the land of Judah. The people celebrate a city whose walls are salvation and whose gates are opened to the righteous nations that have come to faith in the God of Israel and His Messiah. This compliments Isa 60:11-12 “Your gates will be open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, with their kings led in procession. “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined.
Isaiah is saying that security does not come from fortifications or political alliances but from The Lord.
Rabbinic commentators consistently emphasize this point, most notably Rashi, the acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, who lived from 1040 to 1105 in northern France. He is widely regarded as the most influential Jewish biblical commentator in history. For nearly a thousand years, Jewish understanding of the Tanakh and the Talmud has been shaped through Rashi’s explanations. His commentary appears in virtually every printed Hebrew Bible and Talmud, profoundly framing how these texts are read and understood within the Jewish community.
Rashi lived in an era when Christian scholasticism was on the rise. A time when debates between Jewish and Christian scholars were intensifying, and European Jews faced growing instability with the onset of the Crusades. In response, he deliberately focused on the plain, straightforward meaning of the text. The historical grammatical method of interpretation. This is the same method of interpretation that conservatives lawyers and jurists take today in interpreting the constitution. This approach by Rashi kept interpretation anchored in what the passage originally meant in its context, rather than reading later Christian beliefs back into the Hebrew Scriptures.
This resists interpretations that claimed the Church had replaced Israel. Rashi consistently emphasized God’s sovereignty over history, Israel’s covenant responsibility, God’s righteous judgment and restoration. Messianic Jews understand these scriptures as fulfilled in Yeshua the Messiah, in both His first and second coming.
Rashi interprets Isaiah 26 as describing Jerusalem’s divine protection and the humbling of arrogant nations, while approaching these passages with caution regarding their connection to the final events of God’s plan for history.
Rashi affirms a future Messianic age marked by peace, justice, and the restoration of Israel. Yet he avoids detailed Messianic identification, preferring to let the text speak corporately rather than speaking of Yeshua. Like Isaiah 53 referring to Israel instead of the suffering of Yeshua. This of course points to the veil over his eyes and heart preventing him from seeing that the Messiah is indeed Yeshua.
Christians should not use Rashi as proof but as a faithful Jewish witness to the meaning of the text. His work demonstrates that belief in resurrection, divine sovereignty, and eschatological hope is deeply rooted in Jewish interpretation long before the New Testament era.
Rashi matters because he anchors interpretation in the Hebrew text, preserves early rabbinic tradition, resists allegory detached from Scripture and keeps eschatological hope grounded in God’s covenant faithfulness. He allows us to say with integrity that our reading of Isaiah is not foreign to Jewish thought but grows organically from it, reaching its fullest expression in the Yeshua the Messiah of Israel.
V 3-4 Perfect peace for the heart that trust in the Lord – These verses contain one of the most beloved promises in Scripture. The Lord keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him. The Hebrew phrase “shalom shalom” intensifies the idea of complete peace.
Rabbinic tradition highlights the inner dimension of this peace. They teach that peace flows from confidence in God rather than circumstances. Trust anchors the mind and stabilizes the soul.
Of course this reflects harmony within God. The Father is the source of peace, the Son is the Prince of Peace, and the Spirit applies that peace to the believer’s heart. Yeshua instructs us in this truth in John 14:1 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. He speaks of His peace given to His disciples, a peace unlike the world attempts to give.
V 5-6 The Humbling of the Proud City – Here Isaiah contrasts the city of God with the city of human pride. God brings the proud low and allows the humble to walk in peace while judgment is everywhere. This is a heart that understands that what is happening is not vengeance but God’s judgment and discipline. History moves toward righteousness when God’s rule will be on earth as it is in heaven, His rule is everywhere as Paul says to those at the Areopagus in Athens Acts 17:28 “in Him we live and move and exist … Paul was addressing a Gentile audience affirming God’s sovereignty and sustaining presence over all humanity. His statement teaches that God is not distant or confined to temples but is the One in whom all creation continually exists.
Rabbinic commentators often associate the unassailable city with oppressive world powers. As Paul tells us in Eph 4:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Rashi sees here a pattern of God’s justice with the result that arrogance collapses. The poor and humble are vindicated because they rely on the Lord.
This points to the ultimate defeat of all systems that exalt themselves against God. Messiah’s kingdom advances not through coercion but through humility and obedience. The cross itself becomes the supreme example of God’s power revealed through apparent weakness.
V 7-9 The Path of the Righteous and the Longing for God – Here Isaiah affirms that God makes the path of the righteous level. Yet Isaiah acknowledges the difficulty of waiting. His soul like ours, longs for God in the darkness of night and seeks Him earnestly in the light of morning. This complements Is. 50:10 Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
Targum Jonathan paraphrases these verses with an emphasis on yearning for God’s presence and instruction. Longing is not a lack of faith but an expression of covenant love.
A targum is an ancient Aramaic translation and explanation of the Hebrew Scriptures that developed for Jewish communities after Aramaic became the common spoken language. More than a word for word translation, a targum often includes interpretive expansions that clarify the meaning of the text and apply it to the life and faith of the community. Very similar to the Living Bible and other modern paraphrases.
This longing of course finds its answer in Yeshua. He is the embodiment of God’s righteousness and the source of light when we are surrounded by darkness. Through Him believers learn righteousness not only by instruction from the light of God’s Word but also by the transformation of the heart through the work of God’s Spirit in us.
V 10-12 – shows the contrast between human pride and God’s righteous rule. Even when grace is shown, the wicked refuse to learn righteousness and remain blind to the Lord’s majesty. Yet God’s justice will ultimately be made visible, humbling His enemies and exposing the emptiness of human self reliance. In contrast, God grants peace to His people, because their security and success come not from their own efforts but from the Lord Himself, who is the source of all their works.
V 13-14 Isaiah acknowledges that he and his people have lived under other masters, whether foreign rulers or false powers, but now he personally confesses allegiance to the Lord alone.
This is reminiscent of Nehemiah and Daniel, righteous men of God who identified completely with the Israel and her sin. True men of God acknowledge that the sins of their nation as well as their own. The former lords of Israel are described as dead and powerless, unable to rise or rule again, showing the finality of God’s judgment on all powers and rulers that come against God’s chosen people. These verses declare that God has decisively acted to remove every false claim to His sovereignty so that His people might live in submission to Him alone. He demonstrated this powerfully in His dealing with Nebuchadnezzar and every other tyrant who has ruled and oppressed His people.
V 15–16 celebrates the Lord’s grace in expanding and restoring His people, showing that Israel’s growth and future are the result of God’s sovereign work, not their own strength. In times of distress and discipline, the people turned to the Lord in prayer, learning dependence rather than self-reliance. These verses teach that God uses blessings, curses and hardship to draw His people back to Himself and to advance His redemptive and transformative purposes.
V 17-18 pictures Israel’s anguish as the pain of a woman in labor, longing for deliverance. Yet despite intense agony and expectation, no salvation seemed to come from their struggles. This imagery shows that only God’s power, not human effort, brings true renewal and deliverance.
V 19-21 Isaiah acknowledges that grace alone does not always teach righteousness. Sometimes discipline is necessary. Even so, the chapter moves toward one of the clearest statements of resurrection in the Tankah (Hebrew acronym for Torah, Nivim, and Ketuvim – The Torah, Prophets and the writings). The dead will live and the earth will give birth to the departed (V 19). As Job 19:25-27:
As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold,And whom my eyes will see and not another.
Rabbinic sources recognize the significance of this passage in Isaiah. While interpretations vary, many see here a reference to the resurrection of the righteous in the age to come. This of course is our faith. Yeshua’s resurrection is the first fruits (1 Cor. 15:20-22) guaranteeing that death will not have the final word.
The resurrection is the work of the Father who raised, the Son who conquered death, and sent the Spirit who imparts His light and life into our lives. Isaiah’s vision stretches from suffering in his day to ours and points to the ultimate renewal. At the same time, the passage calls God’s people to wait quietly and trust in Him while judgment passes over the earth. These verses hold together future hope and present faithfulness, teaching that God will ultimately deal with injustice and vindicate His people in His perfect timing.
The chapter closes with a call to enter His chambers and wait for the indignation to pass. God will come to judge the earth and expose all the bloodshed and injustice. Rabbinic commentators often read this as a call to faithful endurance during exile and trial. Trusting God includes waiting for His timing. We too are called to await the return of Messiah who will judge righteously and establish peace. This is call to be not afraid but to trust in the Lord of history, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
