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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.
Isaiah 26:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Come, my people, enter into your rooms, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
  • BSB Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
  • NKJV Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.
  • NASB ¶Come, my people, enter your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.
  • NLT Go home, my people, and lock your doors! Hide yourselves for a little while until the Lord’s anger has passed.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God tenderly calls His people to take refuge until His wrath against sin has passed.

Overview

Like Israel sheltering during the Passover judgment, God's people are told to hide briefly until the indignation is over. This shows God's wrath falls on the guilty while He protects His own. It anticipates the gospel refuge found in Christ, in whom believers are safe from the judgment to come.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 24

  • Ps 30:5For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
  • Ps 27:5For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
  • Isa 54:7–8For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
  • Matt 6:6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
  • Ps 91:4He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
  • Prov 18:10The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
  • Ps 17:8Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
  • 2 Cor 4:17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
  • Ps 32:7Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
  • Isa 10:25For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine anger in their destruction.
  • Isa 51:4Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.
  • Ps 91:1He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
  • Exod 12:22–23And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
  • Ps 31:20Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
  • Ezek 11:16Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.
  • Isa 51:16And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
  • Ps 143:9Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
  • Isa 32:18–19And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
  • Ps 57:1Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
  • Gen 7:1And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
  • Jer 31:14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
  • Gen 7:16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.
  • Jer 7:23But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
  • Matt 23:37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 26:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 26:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.