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Selected Verse: Isaiah 26:8 - King James
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Isa 26:8 |
King James |
Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
way of thy judgments--We have waited for Thy proceeding to punish the enemy (Isa 26:9-10) [MAURER]. HORSLEY translates Isa 26:7-8, "The path of the Just One is perfectly even; an even road Thou wilt level for the Just One, even the path of Thy laws, O Jehovah. We have expected Thee."
name . . . remembrance--the manifested character of God by which He would be remembered (Isa 64:5; Exo 3:15). |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Yea, in the way of thy judgements - The word 'judgments' often refers to the statutes or laws of God. But it may also refer to the afflictions and trials with which he visits or judges people; the punishments which they endure for their sins. In which sense the word is used here it is not easy to determine. Lowth understands it of the 'laws' of Yahweh. So Kimchi, who says that the sense is, that during their captivity and trials, they had not remitted anything of their love and piety toward God. I am inclined to the belief that this is the true interpretation, because in the corresponding member of the parallelism they are represented as saying that the desire of their soul was to God, and to the remembrance of him, implying that they sought by an observance of his laws to please him, and to secure his favor.
The desire of our soul is to thy name - The word 'name' is used here, as it is often, to denote God himself. They desired that he would come and deliver them; they earnestly wished that he would manifest himself to them as their friend.
And to the remembrance of thee - The word 'remembrance' (זכר zēker) is often equivalent to name, appellation, or that by which anyone is remembered, or known. Thus Exo 3:15 :
This is my name for ever;
And this is my memorial זכרי zikeriy unto all generations.
So Psa 30:4 :
Sing unto Yahweh, O ye saints of his;
And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness;
That is, at his holy memorial (Margin,) or name. In the place before us it seems to be used in the sense of name or appellation; that is, that by which God would be remembered or known. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
It then commences again in a lyrical tone in Isa 26:8 and Isa 26:9 : "We have also waited for Thee, that Thou shouldest come in the path of Thy judgments; the desire of the soul went after Thy name, and after Thy remembrance. With my soul I desired Thee in the night; yea, with my spirit deep within me, I longed to have Thee here: for when Thy judgments strike the earth, the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness." In the opinion of Hitzig, Knobel, Drechsler, and others, the prophet here comes back from the ideal to the actual present. But this is not the case. The church of the last days, looking back to the past, declares with what longing it has waited for that manifestation of the righteousness of God which has now taken place. "The path of Thy judgments:" 'orach mishpâtēkâ belongs to the te; venientem (or venturum) being understood. The clause follows the poetical construction ארח בּוא, after the analogy of דרך הלך. They longed for God to come as a Redeemer in the way of His judgments. The "name" and "remembrance" ad the nature of God, that has become nameable and memorable through self-assertion and self-manifestation (Exo 3:15). They desired that God should present Himself again to the consciousness and memory of man, by such an act as should break through His concealment and silence. The prophet says this more especially of himself; for he feels himself "in spirit" to be a member of the perfected church. "My soul" and "my spirit" are accusatives giving a more precise definition (Ewald, 281, c). "The night" is the night of affliction, as in Isa 21:11. In connection with this, the word shichēr (lit. to dig for a thing, to seek it eagerly) is employed here, with a play upon shachar. The dawning of the morning after a night of suffering was the object for which he longed, naphshi (my soul), i.e., with his entire personality (Pyschol. p. 202), and ruchi b'kirbi (my spirit within me), i.e., with the spirit of his mind, πνεῦμα τοῦ νοός (Psychol. p. 183). And why? Because, as often as God manifested Himself in judgment, this brought men to the knowledge, and possibly also to the recognition, of what was right (cf., Psa 9:17). "Will learn:" lâmdu is a praet. gnomicum, giving the result of much practical experience. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Have we waited for thee "We have placed our confidence in thy name" - The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee read קוינו kavinu, without the pronoun annexed. |
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
5 Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved.
7 The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.
8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
11 The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.