What is the meaning of Isaiah 26:6? Feet trample it down – Isaiah has just declared that the “lofty city” has been “brought low” (Isaiah 26:5). Verse 6 pictures what happens next: “Feet trample it down.” – A literal scene of rubble being walked over underscores complete defeat; the proud stronghold is reduced to a sidewalk for common passersby (cf. Isaiah 25:12; Malachi 4:3). – Behind the image stands God’s consistent pattern of toppling arrogance—“He has brought down rulers from their thrones” (Luke 1:52), making the high place “dust under His feet” (Psalm 18:27). the feet of the oppressed – The very people who had been crushed now do the trampling. God reverses fortunes, vindicating those who suffered injustice (Exodus 3:7-8; Psalm 147:6). – This fulfills His promise to be “a refuge for the oppressed” (Psalm 9:9) and shows that their cause was never ignored (Isaiah 41:17; James 5:4). – The scene signals judgment on oppressors and honor for the afflicted—exactly what Isaiah earlier foretold: “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress” (Isaiah 25:4). the steps of the poor – “Steps” points to steady, ordinary movement; the poor now walk freely where tyrants once ruled. – Scripture repeatedly links the poor with inheriting what the powerful lose: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:11). – God does not merely rescue the poor; He grants them stewardship. Compare 1 Samuel 2:8, where He “lifts the poor from the dust… to inherit a throne of honor.” – The promise is literal, anticipating the coming kingdom when Christ will reign from Zion and justice will cover the earth (Isaiah 11:4-9; Revelation 5:10). summary Isaiah 26:6 pictures a dramatic reversal: the city that exalted itself against God is flattened so thoroughly that formerly oppressed, poverty-stricken people walk over its ruins. In one short verse the Lord highlights His unwavering justice—pulling down the proud, lifting up the lowly, and handing the ground itself to those who once had no voice. |
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