Bible Strands
Isaiah 1:26
I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God addresses Judah and Jerusalem immediately after declaring He will purge their dross and remove their impurities. This judgment statement sets the stage for the subsequent promise of redemption through justice in Isaiah 1:27.
The words — וְ/אָשִׁ֤בָה ('a.Shi.vah) translates literally to "I will restore," paired with כְּ/בָ/רִ֣אשֹׁנָ֔ה (ke./va./Ri.sho.Nah) meaning "as at the former [time]" to describe the reinstatement of judges. יִקָּ֤רֵא (yi.Ka.re') means "it will be called," introducing the city's new designation following that restoration.
The thread — Jeremiah 33:7 describes God restoring Judah and Israel from captivity and rebuilding them, while Zechariah 8:3 records God returning to dwell in Jerusalem and renaming it the City of Truth. Isaiah 62:1 continues this trajectory by tying Zion's future visibility directly to her righteousness shining forth.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that structural and moral renewal follows divine purification. It demands acceptance that restored leadership and a transformed civic identity are initiated by God, not by human effort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 33:7 I will restore Judah and Israel from captivity and will rebuild them as in former times.
- Zechariah 8:3 This is what the LORD says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”
- Isaiah 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
- Numbers 12:3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.
- Isaiah 1:21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
- Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
- Isaiah 33:5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 60:17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold; I will bring silver in place of iron, bronze instead of wood, and iron instead of stones. I will appoint peace as your governor and righteousness as your ruler.
- Isaiah 60:21 Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.