Isaiah 5 · Verse 26

Isaiah 5:26

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:
Isaiah 5:26, King James Version

Isaiah 5:26 in other translations

BSBHe lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
WEBHe will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come speedily and swiftly.
ASVAnd 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.
YLTAnd He lifted up an ensign to nations afar off, And hissed to it from the end of the earth, And lo, with haste, swift it cometh.
DARBYAnd he will lift up a banner to the nations afar off, and will hiss for one from the end of the earth; and behold, it will come rapidly and lightly.
BBEAnd he will let a flag be lifted up as a sign to a far-off nation, whistling to them from the ends of the earth: and they will come quickly and suddenly.
WebsterAnd he will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss to them from the end of the earth: and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

What does Isaiah 5:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
26. lift ... ensign--to call together the hostile nations to execute His judgments on Judea (Is 10:5-7; 45:1). But for mercy to it, in Is 11:12; 18:3. hiss--(Is 7:18). Bees were drawn out of their hives by the sound of a flute, or hissing, or whistling (Zec 10:8). God will collect the nations round Judea like bees (De 1:44; Psa 118:12). end of the earth--the widely distant subject races of which the Assyrian army was made up (Is 22:6). 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.), Is 5:26-29; referring to some particular nation and person [Horsley].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 26 He 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. In Isa 7:18, the metaphor is more apparent, by being carried farther, where the hostile armies are expressed by the fly and the bee: - "Jehovah shall hist the fly That is in the utmost parts of Egypt; And the bee, that is in the land of Assyria." On which place see Deu 1:44; Psa 118:12; and God calls the locusts his great army, Joe 2:25; Exo 23:28. See Huet, Quest. Alnet. 2:12. שרק sharak or shrak, he shall whistle for them, call loud and shrill; he shall shriek, and they (their enemies) shall come at his call. With speed - This refers to the Isa 5:19. As the scoffers had challenged God to make speed, and to hasten his work of vengeance, so now God assures them that with speed and swiftly it shall come.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 5:24-30

Let not any expect to live easily who live wickedly. Sin weakens the strength, the root of a people; it defaces the beauty, the blossoms of a people. When God's word is despised, and his law cast away, what can men expect but that God should utterly abandon them? When God comes forth in wrath, the hills tremble, fear seizes even great men. When God designs the ruin of a provoking people, he can find instruments to…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 5:24-30 →

Isaiah 5:26 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְנָֽשָׂא\־ve.na.sa'-and he will lift upH5375
נֵ֤סnesa standardH5251
לַגּוֹיִם֙la.go.Yimfor the nationsH1471
מֵרָח֔וֹקme.ra.Chokfrom a distanceH7350
וְשָׁ֥רַקve.Sha.rakand he will whistleH8319
ל֖וֹlofor it
מִקְצֵ֣הmik.Tzehfrom [the] end ofH7097
הָאָ֑רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְהִנֵּ֥הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
מְהֵרָ֖הme.he.RahquicklyH4120
קַ֥לkalswiftH7031
יָבֽוֹא\׃ya.Vo'it will comeH935

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 5:26

  • Zechariah 10:8

    I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

  • Isaiah 7:18

    And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.

  • Deuteronomy 28:49

    The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

  • Isaiah 18:3

    All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.

  • Isaiah 11:12

    And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

  • Malachi 1:11

    For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Psalms 72:8

    He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

  • Jeremiah 51:27

    Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.

  • Joel 2:7

    They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

  • Isaiah 13:5

    They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.

  • Isaiah 39:3

    Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon.

  • Jeremiah 4:13

    Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he will.
11:12; 18:3; Jer 51:27
hiss.
7:18; Zec 10:8
end.
39:3; De 28:49; Ps 72:8; Jer 5:15; Mal 1:11
they.
30:16; Jer 4:13; La 4:19; Joe 2:7; Hab 1:8

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 5:25

    Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.

  • Isaiah 5:26

    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:

  • Isaiah 5:27

    None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:

Read all of Isaiah 5

Isaiah 5:26 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y alzará pendón á gentes de lejos, y silbará al que está en el cabo de la tierra; y he aquí que vendrá pronto y velozmente.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il élèvera un étendard devant les nations lointaines: et il en sifflera une des bouts de la terre; et voici, elle viendra, rapide et légère.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er wird ein Panier erheben den fernen Nationen, und eine wird er herbeizischen vom Ende der Erde; und siehe, eilends, schnell wird sie kommen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et elevabit signum in nationibus procul, et sibilabit ad eum de finibus terræ: et ecce festinus velociter veniet.