Isaiah 26:5 (DRB)

Passage

For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.

Nearby Context

Isaiah 26:3 The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee.

Isaiah 26:4 You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty for ever.

Isaiah 26:5 For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust.

Isaiah 26:6 The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.

Isaiah 26:7 The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "bring", "down", "dwell", "high", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "bring", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "You have hoped in the Lord for..." into verse 6's "The foot shall tread it down the...", so "shall" and "bring" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "bring" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.