Isaiah — Chapter 2
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1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
6Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
12For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
13And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
16And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
17And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
1The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah`s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
4And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
6For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled [with customs] from the east, and [are] soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7And their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.
8Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
9And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low: therefore forgive them not.
10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty.
11The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
12For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low;
13and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall,
16and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery.
17And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.
20In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth.
22Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?
1Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz.
2In future days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure as the most important of mountains and will be the most prominent of hills. All the nations will stream to it;
3many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the temple of the God of Jacob, so he can teach us his requirements, and we can follow his standards.” For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; the Lord’s message will issue from Jerusalem.
4He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.
5O descendants of Jacob, come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light.
6Indeed, O Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. For diviners from the east are everywhere; they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. Plenty of foreigners are around.
7Their land is full of gold and silver; there is no end to their wealth. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.
8Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned.
9Men bow down to them in homage, they lie flat on the ground in worship. Don’t spare them!
10Go up into the rocky cliffs, hide in the ground. Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, from his royal splendor!
11Proud men will be brought low, arrogant men will be humiliated; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12Indeed, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has planned a day of judgment for all the high and mighty; for all who are proud—they will be humiliated;
13for all the cedars of Lebanon that are so high and mighty, for all the oaks of Bashan,
14for all the tall mountains, for all the high hills,
15for every high tower, for every fortified wall,
16for all the large ships, for all the impressive ships.
17Proud men will be humiliated, arrogant men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.
19They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.
20At that time men will throw their silver and gold idols, which they made for themselves to worship, into the caves where rodents and bats live,
21so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs and the openings under the rocky overhangs, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.
22Stop trusting in human beings, whose life’s breath is in their nostrils. For why should they be given special consideration?
1This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
3Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go out, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
4He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.
6For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, with those who practice divination like the Philistines, and they clasp hands with the children of foreigners.
7Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.
8Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
9Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don’t forgive them.
10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty.
11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the haughtiness of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
12For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and haughty, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
13For all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, for all the oaks of Bashan,
14For all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up,
15For every lofty tower, for every fortified wall,
16For all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery.
17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
18The idols shall utterly pass away.
19Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
20In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21To go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Yahweh, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
22Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?
Summary
Isaiah sees the mountain of the LORD exalted in the last days as nations stream to it, but pronounces judgment on human pride — the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Authorship & Background
- The Mountain of the LORD Exalted (vv.1-4)
- Call to Walk in the LORD's Light (v.5)
- Present Corruption: Idolatry and Pride (vv.6-9)
- The Day of the LORD Against All Pride (vv.10-22)
Map & Geography
- Jerusalem (v.1, v.3): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
- Zion (v.3): The hill on which Jerusalem/the Temple stood; often used poetically for God's dwelling.
- Lebanon (v.13): Region north of Israel known for its cedar forests.
- Bashan (v.13): Fertile region east of the Sea of Galilee.
- Tarshish (v.16): Distant port city (possibly Spain); represents the farthest reaches of the known world.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik explores the contrast between the glorious future mountain and the present-day pride, noting how the Day of the LORD targets everything humans elevate above God.
- Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Day of the Lord" (MTP Vol. 22, No. 1316) "The day is coming when cedar and oak, tower and wall, ship and treasure, shall all be brought low — and the only thing left standing will be the LORD Himself. Where will your pride be then?"
Videos
The Bible Project — Isaiah Overview (Video)
Animated overview of the book of Isaiah showing the literary structure, key themes, and how this book fits into the larger biblical narrative. Excellent visual introduction.
Reflection
- 1. The nations don't come to God because He lowers His standards — they come because He is EXALTED (v.2). Compromise doesn't attract; genuine glory does. Is your faith attractive because it's easy, or because it's real?
- 2. "Swords into plowshares" (v.4) — What weapons in your life (sharp tongue, combative attitude, defensive posture) need to be repurposed for productive kingdom work? What are you using to fight that God wants you to use to feed?
- 3. The Day of the LORD targets PRIDE in every form (vv.12-17) — tall cedars, high mountains, lofty towers. Whatever you elevate above God will be brought low. What do you rely on that gives you a sense of superiority or security apart from God?
- 4. "Cease ye from man" (v.22) — stop building your life on human heroes, human systems, human promises. Every person is one breath from being gone. Only God is permanent enough to build your life upon.
- 5. The same chapter that shows nations at peace (v.4) shows Judah filled with silver, horses, and idols (vv.7-8). Proximity to God's truth doesn't guarantee participation in God's future. You can live next door to the temple and miss the kingdom.