Isaiah 26:9
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Study Note
Study Note
The nocturnal longing 'with my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness' locates prophetic desire for God within the context of divine judgment as a pedagogical instrument for the nations. The double intensifier 'soul... spirit' (nephesh... ruach) expresses total-person longing, a totality that mirrors the Shema's 'with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.' The theological claim that divine judgments in history teach righteousness to the earth's inhabitants reflects a pedagogical theodicy — God's acts of judgment are corrective revelations, not mere punishments. Augustine's famous 'our heart is restless until it rests in thee' (Confessions 1.1) has its scriptural roots in this tradition of nocturnal divine longing.
Other Translations
With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
<FI> With<Fi> my soul I desired Thee in the night, Also, <FI>with<Fi> my spirit within me I seek Thee earnestly, For when Thy judgments <FI>are<Fi> on the earth, The inhabitants of the world have learned righteousness.
In the night the desire of my soul has been for you; early will my spirit be searching for you; for when your punishments come on the earth, the people of the world will get the knowledge of righteousness.
Cross References
But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.
Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked …
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that …
O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for …
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.
Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my …
I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.