Bible Strands
Isaiah 26:20
Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Israel ("my people") at the pivot between a promise of bodily resurrection (26:19) and a declaration of God's departure from His sanctuary to execute judgment (26:21). The command functions as a direct instruction to the faithful amid an approaching period of wrath.
The words — חֲבִי (cha.Vi) means "hide," operating alongside בֹּא (bo') "enter" and סְגֹר (se.Gor) "shut" to form a literal, sequential command to take physical refuge in enclosed rooms.
The thread — The pattern of temporary concealment during divine anger runs through Psalm 27:5 and Psalm 30:5, while Isaiah 54:7 mirrors the "brief moment" of separation before restoration.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate physical compliance with a warning of coming judgment, framing temporary shelter as a practical response to unavoidable wrath rather than a permanent solution.
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
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
Cross-references
- Psalms 30:5 For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Psalms 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high upon a rock.
- Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
- Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Psalms 91:4 He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- Psalms 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- Psalms 32:7 You are my hiding place. You protect me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
- Isaiah 10:25 For in just a little while My fury against you will subside, and My anger will turn to their destruction.”