Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 1:26
And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
26. The result will be the establishment of a pure administration in Jerusalem, as in the olden time, Zion once more worthy of her ancient name, citadel of righteousness (Cheyne), faithful city. The last expression, carrying us back to Isa 1:21, marks the close of the elegy.
Two things are noteworthy in this passage. (1) The ideal is political. The salvation of Israel is secured when all public offices are filled with good men (“judges” and “counsellers”). (2) The ideal will be realised by a restoration of the best days of the past. In later prophecies Isaiah looks forward to a state of things far transcending anything that had been achieved in Israel’s previous history. Such an anticipation as this is most naturally assigned to an early period of his career, before his eschatological conceptions had assumed a definite form.
27 describes the salutary and 28 the judicial aspect of the chastisement in more abstract terms than those hitherto employed. her converts ] lit. “those in her who turn”; cf. “Remnant-shall-turn” in ch. Isa 7:3.
redeemed ] A very rare word with Isaiah (only again in Isa 29:22). It is doubtful whether the meaning is that she shall be redeemed from her own sins, or from the troubles they shall have brought upon her. So it is uncertain whether judgment and righteousness (cf. Isa 1:21) are the virtues of the redeemed people, or the attributes of God manifested in the redemption. The former idea is most in accordance with Isaiah’s use of the words, but the latter, which is common in the later parts of the book, undoubtedly gives the best sense in this connexion.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And I will restore … – That is, I will give you such judges as the nation had in former days – in the times of Moses, Joshua, etc. Most of the charges in this chapter are against the magistrates. The calamities of the nation are traced to their unfaithfulness and corruption, Isa 1:17-23. God now says that he will remove this cause of their calamity, and give them pure magistrates.
Thy counselors – Thy advisers; that is, those occupying places of trust and responsibility. When this should be, the prophet does not say. The Jewish commentators suppose that he refers to the time after the return from captivity, and to such men as Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah; and to the times of Hyrcanus and Herod, Jerome supposes that the times of the Messiah are referred to. It is impossible to determine which is the correct opinion; though, as the Babylonian captivity was the punishment of those national sins which the prophet was denouncing, it is more probable that he refers to the time immediately succeeding that punishment, when the nation would be restored. I am inclined, therefore, to the opinion, that the prophet had reference solely to the prosperity of the Jewish nation, under a succession of comparatively virtuous princes, after the Babylonian captivity.
Thou shalt be called … – The principal cause of your wickedness and calamity, that is, your unfaithful rulers being removed and punished, you shall afterward be distinguished as a city of righteousness.
The faithful city – That is, faithful to Yahweh – faithful in keeping his laws, and maintaining the rites of his religion as formerly; compare Isa 1:21.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 1:26
And I will restore thy Judges as at the first
A grand ideal
Two things are noteworthy in this passage.
1. The ideal is political. The salvation of Israel is secured when all public offices are filled with good men. Judges and counsellors.
2. The ideal will be realised by a restoration of the best days of the past. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Social regeneration
I. ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS OF SOCIETY ARE ABSOLUTELY IN GODS HANDS. I will restore, etc. No man can overturn, or build up, but by His permission.
II. ALL INTERRUPTIONS OF SOCIAL ORDER ARE UNDER THE CONTROL OF GOD.
III. NO SOCIAL STATE CAN BE PURIFIED BUT BY RELIGIOUS PROCESSES. There are many philanthropic and political projects which have for their aim national regeneration, but they are all foredoomed to come to nought, because they lack the religious element.
IV. THE GREAT NAME WILL FOLLOW THE TRUE REGENERATION. Afterward thou shalt be called, etc. Not first the exalted title, but the illustrative character; not first the splendid renown, but the glorious achievement! (J. Parker, D. D.)
National revivification
The imperishable kernel that remains becomes the centre to which all demerits of excellence are attracted. (F. Delitzsch.)
The city of righteousness
With Isaiah, the giving of a name is the perception and recognition of the real existence of what has come into outward manifestation. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 26. I will restore] “This,” says Kimchi, “shall be in the days of the Messiah, in which all the wicked shall cease, and the remnant of Israel shall neither do iniquity, nor speak lies.” What a change must this be among Jews!
Afterward – “And after this”] The Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and eighteen MSS., and one of my own, very ancient, add the conjunction vau, AND.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will restore thy judges, I will give thee such princes and magistrates,
as at the first, Heb. as thou hadst in the beginning; either,
1. Of thy commonwealth, such as Moses and Joshua; or,
2. Of thy kingdom, such as David.
Thy counsellors; thy princes shall have and hearken to wise and faithful counsellors, which is a singular blessing to a prince and people.
Thou shalt be called, to wit, justly and truly; thou shalt be such; for to be called is oft put for to be, as Isa 4:3; 61:6; Mat 5:9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. As the degeneracy had shownitself most in the magistrates (Isa1:17-23), so, at the “restoration,” these shall be suchas the theocracy “at the first” had contemplated, namely,after the Babylonish restoration in part and typically, but fully andantitypically under Messiah (Isa 32:1;Isa 52:8; Jer 33:7;Mat 19:28).
faithfulno longer “anharlot.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And I will restore thy judges as at the first,…. This refers not to the times after the Babylonish, captivity, when the Jews had judges and rulers, such as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah, as they had in the times of Moses, Joshua, and the judges, or as in the times of David and Solomon; but it refers, as Kimchi observes, to the times of the Messiah; and is true of the apostles of Christ, who were set on twelve thrones, had power and authority from Christ to preach his Gospel, and to judge the twelve tribes of Israel in a doctrinal way, Mt 19:28 for which they were abundantly qualified, having the spirit of counsel and of judgment resting upon them, as the prophets of old; and will be again verified in the ministers of the Gospel, at the time of the Jews’ conversion, when the watchmen shall see eye to eye, have a clear discerning and judgment of things as at the first, Isa 52:8
and thy counsellors as at the beginning; which is to be understood of the same persons; the apostles at Jerusalem gave advice and counsel in matters of difficulty, and were consulted on special occasions, of which there is an instance in Ac 15:1 and ordinary ministers of the word are qualified, and especially will be in the latter day, to give advice both to sensible sinners, inquiring the way of salvation, and to saints when under desertion, and have lost their beloved, or have any matters of difficulty upon them, whether with respect to faith or practice.
Afterward thou shall be called the city of righteousness: when many shall be converted through the hand of the Lord turned upon them, and become incorporated into a church state, and having the apostles and other ministers of the Gospel among them, with proper officers over them, as the first Christian church at Jerusalem had; and the members of it were righteous persons, such as were justified by the righteousness of Christ, and lived righteously, walking in the ordinances of the Lord, and as became the Gospel of Christ, and will be the case of the churches of Christ in the latter day:
the faithful city; to Christ, his Gospel, ordinances, and one another, as the first Christians at Jerusalem were; see Ac 2:12. A true church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, who keep the ordinances as they were delivered; stand first in the faith of the Gospel; take care that the laws of Christ’s house are put in execution; and do not suffer sin upon one another, nor bear them that are evil, whether in doctrine or practice; and which in the latter day will be the case of the churches of Christ in a remarkable manner, when they will justly bear this character.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As the threat couched in the previous figure does not point to the destruction, but simply to the smelting of Jerusalem, there is nothing strange in the fact that in Isa 1:26 it should pass over into a pure promise; the meltingly soft and yearningly mournful termination of the clauses with ayich , the keynote of the later songs of Zion, being still continued. “And I will bring back thy judges as in the olden time, and thy counsellors as in the beginning; afterwards thou wilt be called city of righteousness, faithful citadel.” The threat itself was, indeed, relatively a promise, inasmuch as whatever could stand the fire would survive the judgment; and the distinct object of this was to bring back Jerusalem to the purer metal of its own true nature. But when that had been accomplished, still more would follow. The indestructible kernel that remained would be crystallized, since Jerusalem would receive back from Jehovah the judges and counsellors which it had had in the olden flourishing times of the monarchy, ever since it had become the city of David and of the temple; not, indeed, the very same persons, but persons quite equal to them in excellence. Under such God-given leaders Jerusalem would become what it had once been, and what it ought to be. The names applied to the city indicate the impression produced by the manifestation of its true nature. The second name is written without the article, as in fact the word kiryah (city), with its massive, definite sound, always is in Isaiah. Thus did Jehovah announce the way which it had been irrevocably determined that He would take with Israel, as the only way to salvation. Moreover, this was the fundamental principle of the government of God, the law of Israel’s history.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
26. And I will restore thy judges as at the first He now speaks without a figure; and having said that the source and origin of the evils was in the princes, he shows that a divine hand will purify that rank, when the Lord shall be pleased to restore the Church to perfect health. And, indeed, when they who rule are good and holy men, public order is maintained; for when wicked men have power, everything goes to ruin. By judges and counsellors are evidently meant any kind of magistrates; and when he promises that they will be such as they were at the beginning, he brings to their remembrance the extraordinary goodness of God, of which they had been deprived. God had graciously raised up the throne of David, and in that government was pleased to give a bright resemblance of his own parental love. Though the authority of the family of David had degenerated into the grossest tyranny, yet they continued to boast of a false title; for they still vaunted of the reign of David in the same manner as the papists of the present day plume themselves on a false pretense of the Church. Justly, therefore, are the people reminded of the happiness from which they had fallen by their own fault, that they might not be displeased at a diminution of their numbers, by means of which they would again possess that order which God had established
Then shalt thou be called He describes the fruit of that reformation, of which he has spoken, as extending to the whole body; for, having said that Jerusalem, before she revolted from God, was a faithful city, full of righteousness, the Prophet now says, that when she shall have been chastised the same virtues will be illustriously displayed in her. Here, too, is expressed the sum of true repentance; for by righteousness is meant uprightness, when every man obtains what belongs to him, and men live with each other without committing injury. The word faithful has a still more extensive meaning; for when a city is called faithful, it means not only that justice and honesty between man and man are observed, but that the purity of God’s worship is maintained and therefore the chastity and purity of the mind are included under that designation.
It must also be observed, however, that from this faithfulness springs justice; for when we adhere to truth in our mutual intercourse, justice easily gains the ascendency. And, indeed, when I closely examine the whole passage, I think that the Prophet now employs the word faithfulness in a more limited sense than formerly, and connects the two virtues as leading to the same object, so that, while truth goes first as the cause, justice is the effect of it. Isaiah promises not only that she will be righteous and faithful, but that she will also be distinguished by these commendations; by which he means that the knowledge or reputation of it will be everywhere diffused. We know that hypocrites, too, are adorned with honorable titles; but Isaiah, having introduced God as speaking, takes for granted that the city will actually be righteous, as it is foretold that she shall be. In the meantime, as I have said, he describes the fruit of a true conversion; as if he had said,” When Jerusalem shall be brought Jack to true godliness, men will be persuaded that she is renewed.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE DIVINE IDEA OF REDEMPTION
Isa. 1:25-26. And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin: and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city.
We have here the promise of a redemption which God would accomplish for Jerusalem, and from the terms of the promise, especially taken in connection with the preceding statements (Isa. 1:21-23), we may learn what Gods idea of redemption is: it is to purge away all that debases and to restore all that is lost. In other words, redemption consists in restoration to the Divine ideal. Such was the redemption which God promised to accomplish for Jerusalem: such is the redemption which He offers to accomplish for us. Here we have
I. A correction of a common error. Most men, when they hear of redemption, think of it merely as salvation from suffering, rescue from the peril of hell. This is a consequence of redemption, but redemption consists in the cleansing of our nature from all defilement, and in our restoration to the Divine ideal of humanity (Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24; Eph. 4:13). God is going to do something grander for us than save us from hell. He is going to make us meet for heaven (1Jn. 3:2). It would be truer to say that Gods idea of redemption is salvation by suffering, than to say that it is salvation from suffering. The figure used in the text is expressive of the keenest sufferingI will purely purge away thy dross. But dross is purged away by fire! Suffering is one of the instruments which God most frequently uses to save men from sin.
II. A model for preachers. Guided by a Divine inspiration, the prophet does not speak of happiness, but of purity and righteousness; he names these as the great favours which God was about to bestow upon His people. So should preachers to-day strive to make men understand that these are the greatest blessings which God can confer upon man. All other blessings spring from them; as all social blessings are secured to a community when its judges are righteous and its counsellors fear God. Let preachers do their utmost to make it plain to the men of this generation, that just as if we have the sun we shall have light and heat, so if they have purity, they shall have peace; if they attain to holiness, they shall attain to a nobler and completer happiness than those who long for happiness merely ever dream of.
III. An ennobling ideal to be striven after by all men. Happy is the man who has a great purpose in life. And what is the purpose with which a study of our text should inspire us? Not merely to flee from the wrath to come, but to become partakers of the Divine nature, and so to attain to Gods ideal of humanity. God is striving to restore us to His own likeness: let us do all that in us lies to help on this restoration (Php. 2:12-13). The salvation we are to work out is not salvation from guilt (that is Christs work, accomplished by Him once for all on the cross), but from the indwelling corruption which is to us what dross is to the precious metals. Nor are we merely to seek to put away that which is evil [457] we are to strive to set up in us all noblenesses which are to character what judges and counsellors are to a city (2Pe. 1:5-7; Php. 4:8). Blessed is the man who has this ideal in life.
[457] Christianity ends not in negatives. No man clears his garden of weeds but in order to the planting of flowers or useful herbs in their room. God calls upon us to dispossess our corruptions, but it is for the reception of new inhabitants. A room may be clean, and yet empty; but it is not enough that our hearts be swept, unless they be also garnished, or that we lay aside our pride, our luxury, our covetousness, unless humility, temperance, and liberality rise up and thrive in their places. The design of religion would be very poor and short should it look no further than only to keep men from being swine, goals, and tigers, without improving the principles of humanity into positive and higher perfections. The soul may be cleansed from all blots, and yet still be left but a blank. But Christianity is of a thriving and aspiring nature, and requires us to proceed from grace to grace (2Pe. 1:5-7), ascending by degrees, till at length the top of the ladder reaches heaven, and conveys the soul so qualified into the mansions of glory.South, 16331716.
I. He is saved from fear, the haunting dread of failure which oppresses those whose supreme desire is merely to be saved from hell.
II. He has a sustaining hope, based upon the sure promises of Gods Word (1Pe. 1:10-11).
III. He has a present and growing joy, such as can come only from self-conquest and moral progress. The joy of the just, that is, of the men whose steadfast aim is righteousness, is like the path of the just (Pro. 4:18).
SOCIAL REGENERATION
Isa. 1:26. And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, The faithful city.
We have in the contest a picture of a dismantled city, a disorganised community; and here God tells us that He will undertake the work of its reconstruction.
I. All the arrangements of society are absolutely in Gods hands. I will restore, &c. No man can overturn, or build up, but by His permission. On Him all projects of national, social, or ecclesiastical reconstruction depend for their success. That on which He smiles flourishes; that on which He frowns withers away. Let reformers and reconstructors of society remember and recognise this great fact, that God rules on earth as in heaven.
II. All interruptions of social order are under the control of God. Revolutions occur not by chance, not by the will of man, but by the will of God. They occur only when, and continue only as long as He pleases. By Him judges and counsellors are swept away, and by Him they are restored. No nation is so broken that it cannot be uplifted by Him to power and glory, as at the first.
III. No social state can be purified but by religious processes. There are many philanthropic and political projects which have for their aim national regeneration, but they are all foredoomed to come to nought, because they lack the religious element. Moral reformation must go before social advancement: a return to righteousness is the first step to national exaltation [460]
[460] Think not that any change in the form of government would cure that which is caused by the peoples sin, or the common depravity of human nature. Some think they can contrive such forms of government as that the rulers shall be able to do no hurt; but either they will disable them to do good, or else their engine is but glass, and will fail or break when it comes to execution. Men that are themselves so bad and unhumbled as not to know how bad they are, and how bad mankind is, are still laying the blame upon the form of government when anything is amiss, and think by a change to find a cure. As if when an army is infected with the plague, or composed of cowards, the change of the general or form of government would prove a cure. But if a monarch be faulty, in an aristocracy you will have but many faulty governors for one, and in a democracy a multitude of tyrants.Baxter, 16151691.
IV. The great name will follow the true regeneration. Afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city. Not first the exalted title, but the illustrative character; not first the splendid renown but the glorious achievement!Joseph Parker, D.D.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(26) I will restore thy judges as at the first.The prophet looks back to the good old days, the time probably of David, or the early years of Solomon (1Ki. 10:9)as Englishmen look back to those of Elizabethwhen judges were faithful, and princes upright, and the people happyto such an ideal polity as that of Psalms 15, 24.
The city of righteousness, the faithful city.The two nouns are not the same, and the second has rather the meaning of citadel, the acropolis of Jerusalem. There is possibly an allusive reference to the idea embodied in the names of Melchizedek (Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:2) and Adonizedec (Jos. 10:3), as connected with Jerusalem. So in Jer. 33:16 the ideal city, no less than the ideal king, is to be called Jehovah Tsidkenu (the Lord our righteousness).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
26, 27. I will restore thy judges Corrupt judges and counsellors shall be removed, and such magistrates as in early times as in David’s time were enjoyed, shall take their places.
City of righteousness The prophet catches a glimpse of what he is yet to describe in Isa 60:14.
Faithful city A city steadfast in character, also of unquestionably good reputation. Isa 7:9; Isa 33:5-6.
Zion By metonomy, the purified city itself.
With judgment In just visitation for sin, yet with merciful intent. Although obliged to punish this rebellious people because of their perversity, God’s infliction should lead to repentance, when he would remove his stroke and again gather them to their own land.
Her converts Margin, They that return of her. Possibly the reference is to the return from captivity in Babylon: more likely, the expression is general, and means those who return to the Lord.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
Ver. 26. And I will restore. ] By new minting the commonwealth, Velut adulterinum nummum as Jer 9:7 Mal 3:3 This I will do for thee after thy captivity, but especially after the coming of Christ in the flesh.
Thou shalt be called.
The city of righteousness.
The faithful city.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
judges as a t the first. Reference to Pentateuch Exo 18:16-26.
faithful. Compare Isa 1:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
thy judges
Under the kingdom the ancient method of administering the theocratic government over Israel is to be restored. Cf. Jdg 2:18; Mat 19:28.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
And I will: Isa 32:1, Isa 32:2, Isa 60:17, Isa 60:18, Num 12:3, Num 16:15, 1Sa 12:2-5, Jer 33:7, Jer 33:15-17, Eze 34:23, Eze 34:24, Eze 37:24, Eze 37:25, Eze 45:8
thou shalt: Isa 1:21, Isa 60:21, Isa 62:1, Jer 31:23, Zep 3:9, Zep 3:13, Zec 8:8, Rev 21:27
Reciprocal: Exo 21:6 – the judges Lev 14:40 – take away Deu 28:9 – establish Deu 30:8 – General Pro 8:15 – decree Isa 33:5 – he hath Isa 48:10 – I have refined Isa 54:14 – righteousness Jer 30:20 – children Jer 49:25 – General Eze 16:41 – and I Zec 8:3 – a city Zec 12:5 – the governors Mal 3:4 – the offering Act 1:6 – restore Act 3:21 – the times Rev 2:5 – and do
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:26 {l} And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
(l) It is once the work of God to purify the heart of man, which he does because of his promise, made concerning the salvation of his Church.