ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

Isaiah 26.3

Book: Isaiah · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV
  1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: we have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth faith may enter in.

3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee.

  1. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an everlasting rock. 5. For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city: he layeth it low, he layeth it low even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. (Isaiah 26:1-5, ASV)
WEB
  1. In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city. God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter: the one which keeps faith.

3. You will keep whoever’s mind is steadfast in perfect peace, because he trusts in you.

  1. Trust in Yahweh forever; for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting Rock. 5. For he has brought down those who dwell on high, the lofty city. He lays it low. He lays it low even to the ground. He brings it even to the dust. (Isaiah 26:1-5, WEB)
KJV
  1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. truth: Heb. truths

3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. perfect: Heb. peace, peace mind: or, thought, or, imagination

  1. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: everlasting: Heb. the rock of ages 5. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. (Isaiah 26:1-5, KJV)
YLT
  1. In that day sung is this song in the land of Judah: 'We have a strong city, Salvation He doth make walls and bulwark. 2. Open ye the gates, that enter may a righteous nation, Preserving stedfastness.

3. An imagination supported Thou fortifiest peace, peace! For in Thee it is confident.

  1. Trust ye in Jehovah for ever, For in Jah Jehovah [is] a rock of ages, 5. For He bowed down the dwellers on high, A city set on high He maketh low, He maketh it low unto the earth, He causeth it to come unto the dust, (Isaiah 26:1-5, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: the prophet Isaiah, in a song to be sung in the land of Judah
  • Audience: Judah
  • Location: Judah
  • Time period: the oracle belongs to the section often called the Isaiah apocalypse, chapters 24 to 27

Theological reading

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.

The Hebrew behind perfect peace is shalom shalom, the word simply repeated. Hebrew has no separate superlative construction of the kind English uses, so doubling a noun intensifies it, and the effect is closer to peace upon peace, or peace that is complete. The repetition is the emphasis.

Mind renders yetser, which is not the intellect but the formed inclination or bent of a person, from the verb used of a potter shaping clay. It is the same word used in Genesis 6:5 for the imagination of the thoughts of the heart being only evil continually. So the promise attaches to the settled disposition rather than to a passing thought, and it is offered to a faculty Scripture elsewhere describes as bent wrong.

Stayed is a passive participle from samak, to lean or support, the verb used of laying hands heavily on a sacrifice. The image is of resting one's weight on something, which is why the second clause is not a repetition: leaning is what trusting looks like in practice.

The setting keeps the verse from being merely interior. Chapters 24 to 27 describe the earth reeling like a drunkard and the city of chaos broken down, and this song is placed inside that. Verse 1 begins we have a strong city, contrasted with the ruined city of the previous chapter. The peace promised is not the absence of upheaval but stability inside it, which is the same structure as Isaiah 43.2 and as John 16:33.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.