Verse

Isaiah chapter 2

English Standard Version

2It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for 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 anymore. 5O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD. 6For you have rejected your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. 7Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. 8Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. 9So man is humbled, and each one is brought low— do not forgive them! 10Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty. 11The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low; 13against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan; 14against all the lofty mountains, and against all the uplifted hills; 15against every high tower, and against every fortified wall; 16against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 18And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19And people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 20In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats, 21to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth. 22Stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?
New International Version

New American Standard Bible

2Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. 3And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; So that He may teach us about His ways, And that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go out from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4And He will judge between the nations, And will mediate for many peoples; And they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not lift up a sword against nation, And never again will they learn war. 5Come, house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the light of the Lord. 6For You have abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers like the Philistines. They also strike bargains with the children of foreigners. 7Their land has also been filled with silver and gold And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with horses, And there is no end to their chariots. 8Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made. 9So the common person has been humbled And the person of importance has been brought low, But do not forgive them. 10Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty. 11The proud look of humanity will be brought low, And the arrogance of people will be humbled; And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. 12For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty, And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be brought low. 13And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan, 14Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up, 15Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall, 16Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the delightful ships. 17And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day, 18And the idols will completely vanish. 19 People will go into caves of the rocks And into holes in the ground Away from the terror of the Lord And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. 20On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship, 21In order to go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to terrify the earth. 22 Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?
Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

King James Version

What does Isaiah chapter 2 mean?

Isaiah begins this second chapter of his book by briefly reintroducing himself as the son of Amoz and announcing his plan to reveal what he saw about Judah and Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1). The prophet describes God's revelations about the future to him in visual terms. He has seen what the Lord has shown him.

He begins by describing what he has seen far in Israel's future in the last days (Isaiah 2:2). These same words also appear in Micah 4:1–3, showing that God intended for both prophets to emphasize the glory to come in Israel's distant future. At that time, the mountain of the house of the Lord will become the "highest" of all mountains on earth. Isaiah means this in the sense that the Lord's mountain in Jerusalem will become the most important and significant place of worship in the world, high above all other forms of religion (Isaiah 2:2).

The people of all the nations of the earth will finally understand that the God of Israel is right. He is the one true God, and the Gentiles of the earth will flock to Jerusalem to learn from the Lord. His teaching will reach the world from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3).

During this time, the future reign of Christ on earth as the Messiah, The Lord will finally bring order to the world. All will be right on the earth, with The Lord settling disputes between all nations and removing any need for countries to prepare for war (Isaiah 2:4).

Isaiah urges the Israelites of his day not to wait for that day to start walking in the light of the Lord. Do it now, he tells them, even though he knows they will not listen (Isaiah 2:5).

Because God's people refuse to trust Him, He has abandoned and rejected them. This is not a complete elimination of His care for Israel—but it does mean God is withholding His protection and blessing. Isaiah describes the ways in which the Israelites have been seeking good from sources other than their God. They are full of the superstitions of the people of the east and fascinated with fortune-tellers and divinations as the Philistines are. They make bargains with foreign powers, seeking financial and political security (Isaiah 2:6).

Even worse, the Israelites think their idol worship is working (Psalm 115:4–8; Habakkuk 2:18–19). The land is rich, full of gold, silver, treasures, chariots, and horses. It's also filled with idols worshipped by the people who made them. In exchange for this worship, they believe the idols provide their great wealth and security (Isaiah 2:7).

Isaiah, full of indignation at these sins of his people, turns to the Lord and tells God not to forgive them. He describes the coming time of God's judgment known as the day of the Lord (Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 1:15; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). This is the predicted era when God will complete His plan to punish all sin and overcome evil forever. Then, finally, men will be brought low. Isaiah describes God's people as hiding in dark caves to try to escape the glory of the Lord's majesty. On that day, the Lord will be exalted and human beings will be brought low (Isaiah 2:9).

Isaiah lists large things men trust to save them, including the trees of Lebanon and Bashan, great mountains and hills, city walls and towers, and great ships of trade and military might. Relying on material goods or wealth is pointless when faced with a holy Creator God (Psalm 20:7; Proverbs 11:28; Luke 12:16–21). All these things will be revealed as unreliable on the day of the Lord (Isaiah 2:13–17).

The countless idols will also be thrown aside. While their makers hide in the ground from the judgement of the Lord (Revelation 6:15–17), these idols will be left behind in caves (Isaiah 2:20–21).

Don't trust men, Isaiah concludes. They're one breath away from death. Trust the Lord, instead (Isaiah 2:22).
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