Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 26:21

"For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." — Isaiah 26:21 (ASV)

For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place – That is, from heaven, which is the dwelling-place or residence of God (Psalms 115:3; Ezekiel 3:12; Micah 1:3). When God executes vengeance, He is represented as coming from His abode, His dwelling-place, His capital, as a monarch goes forth to war to destroy His enemies.

To punish the inhabitants of the earth – The land of Chaldea, or of Babylon.

The earth also shall disclose her blood – Blood, in the Scriptures, often denotes “guilt.” The sense here is that the land of Chaldea would reveal its guilt; that is, the punishment which God would inflict would be a revelation of the crimes of the nation. There is a resemblance here to the language which was used concerning the blood of Abel: The voice of thy brother’s blood (in Hebrew, as in the current passage, “bloods”) crieth unto me from the ground (Genesis 4:10).

And shall no more cover her slain – This means the earth shall no longer be able to conceal its guilt in slaying the people of God.

By these hopes, the Jews were to be comforted in their calamity. No doubt Isaiah wrote this song long before that captivity so that, in the midst of their prolonged and severe trials, they might be consoled with the hope of deliverance and might know what to do when the storms of war would rage around the place of their captivity, and when the proud city was to fall.

They were not to mix in the conflict; they were to take no part with either their enemies or their deliverers. Instead, they were to be calm, gentle, and peaceful, and to remember that all this was to bring about their deliverance.

Compare this to Exodus 14:13-14: Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh; Yahweh shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. There are times when the children of God should look calmly on the conflicts of the people of this world.

They should not join with either party, for they should remember that Yahweh presides over these disturbances, and that their ultimate end is to bring deliverance to his church and to advance the interests of his kingdom on the earth.

At such times, they should be mild, gentle, and prayerful. They should look up to God to make all these disturbances and conflicts the means of advancing the interests of his kingdom.