Isaiah 5:26

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far,.... 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

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: He will lift up an ensign to the nations

He will lift up an ensign, to call them together for his service, as generals used to do for the raising of armies, to the nations from far; either, 1. To the Assyrians, of whom he speaks more particularly Isaiah 10, and that under this same character of a people that come from far, and who did not long after this prophecy invade Judea, and did much mischief in it. Although that part of the prediction, , They shall lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it, do not seem to agree to them, nor that invasion; for the Assyrians were forced to retreat with great shame and loss, and the Jews were delivered from them. Or, 2. To the Chaldeans; for even Babylon is called a far country, . And he saith nations, because the Chaldean army was made up of several nations. Will hiss unto them; or, will whistle unto or for them; will gather them together by his word, as shepherds gather their sheep. He intimates how easily and speedily God can do this work. From the ends of the earth; which is not to be understood strictly, but popularly, and with a latitude, from very remote places; although part of the Chaldean army did come from places not very far distant from the end of that part of the world, so far as it was then known.

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:Ver. 26. And he will lift up an ensign.] That is, by his secret providence he shall bring on the enemy’ s army. The Roman forces are called God’ s armies, and Titus confessed that he only lent God his hand to execute his wrath on that rebellious people the Jews. And will hiss unto them.] Bring them together with little ado, as pilots hiss for their ship boys, or shepherds whistle for their sheep to come about them. From the end of the earth.] Rome was far remote from Jerusalem, and in the Roman army were likely many French, Spaniards, Italians, and perhaps Britons. And behold they shall come with speed.] Sooner than those mockers imagined who said, "Let him make speed." Hence the enemy is compared to a swift eagle.

(26) And he will lift up an ensign.—The banner on the summit of a hill indicated the meeting-place of a great army. In this case the armies are thought of as doing the work of Jehovah Sabaoth, and therefore as being summoned by Him. The same image meets us in Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 13:2; Isaiah 18:3; Isaiah 49:22; Isaiah 62:10. Will hiss unto them.—The verb meets us in a like context in Isaiah 7:18. It seems to describe the sharp shrill whistle which was to the ear what the banner was to the eye, the signal of a rendezvous. Possibly, as in Isaiah 7:18, the idea of the bees swarming at the whistling of the bee-master is already in the prophet’s thoughts. From the end of the earth.—The words point to the Assyrians, the Euphrates being the boundary of Isaiah’s political geography.

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 Isaiah 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 Deuteronomy 1:44; Psalms 118:12; and God calls the locusts his great army, Joe 2:25; Exodus 23:28. See Huet, Quest. Alnet. ii. 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 nineteenth verse. 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.

25–30. A warlike Nation, summoned from the Ends of the Earth, is the destined Instrument of Israel’s final ChastisementThat the Assyrians are here alluded to is certain both from the explicit statements of later prophecies, and from the terms of the description itself. It speaks of the foe as characterised by the rapidity of his movements, the perfection of his discipline and military equipment, his love of conquest, and his irresistible might. These features are no doubt highly idealised (as was natural in a first sketch), but it is clear that some particular nation is meant, and we can have no hesitation in saying that the reference is to the most perfect military machine that then existed, the Assyrian army. Although the passage might be explained fairly enough as the continuation of Isa 5:24, it gains immensely in significance when read as the final strophe of the prophecy in ch. Isaiah 9:8 to Isaiah 10:4, a position to which several considerations lead us to assign it. (1) The latter part of Isa 5:25 occurs as a refrain in Isaiah 9:12; Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 9:21 and Isaiah 10:4. It is found nowhere else and its isolated occurrence in Isaiah 5:25 distinctly weakens the force of Isa 5:24. (2) The four equal strophes of Isa 9:8 to Isaiah 10:4 correspond very nearly in length with Isaiah 5:26-30. (3) After reading Isaiah 10:4, we feel that the last word has not been spoken: the hand is still outstretched, we wait to hear of the final blow. The verses before us supply the appropriate climax. On the other hand, they are not necessary where they stand, Isaiah 5:24 affording a satisfactory conclusion. The hypothesis, to be sure, does not remove every difficulty. It is vain to speculate as to the reasons which may have led to the transference; although it might have been suggested by the appositeness of the passage as a reply to the challenge of Isa 5:19. Further, Isaiah 5:25 is far too short for a complete strophe, and therefore can hardly have followed immediately on Isaiah 10:4. We must suppose that some verses have been omitted in the process of transference, as irrelevant in their new context.

And he will lift up an ensign ... - The idea here is, that the nations of the earth are under his control, and that he can call whom he pleases to execute his purposes.

The foreign invaders summoned to execute judgment, Isaiah 5:26-30.26-30. An ensign — A signal to nations from afar — Assyrians, Babylonians, Parthians, Scythians, perhaps, and finally Romans.