Isaiah — Chapter 2

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In the days to come,The Mount of GOD’s HouseShall stand firm above the mountainsAnd tower above the hills;And all the nationsShall gaze on it with joy.

And the many peoples shall go and say:“Come,Let us go up to the Mount of GOD,To the House of the God of Jacob;That we may be instructed in God’s ways,And that we may walk in God’s paths.”For instruction shall come forthainstruction shall come forth I.e., oracles will be obtainable. from Zion,The word of GOD from Jerusalem.

Thus [God] will judge among the nationsAnd arbitrate for the many peoples,And they shall beat their swords into plowsharesbplowshares More exactly, the iron points with which wooden plows were tipped. And their spears into pruning hooks:Nation shall not take upSword against nation;They shall never again knowcknow Cf. Judg. 3.2. war.

O House of Jacob!Come, let us walkBy the light of GOD.

For you have forsaken [the ways of] your people,O House of Jacob!For they are full [of practices] from the East,And of soothsaying like the Philistines;They abound in customsdcustoms Cf. Targum; lit. “children.” of the aliens.eFor they are full [of practices] from the East, / And of soothsaying like the Philistines; / They abound in customs of the aliens Emendation yields “For they are full of divination / and have abundance of soothsaying, / Like Philistines / And like alien folk.”

Their land is full of silver and gold,There is no limit to their treasures;Their land is full of horses,There is no limit to their chariots.

And their land is full of idols;They bow down to the work of their hands,To what their own fingers have wrought.

But human shall be humbled,And mortal brought low—Oh, do not forgive them!fOh, do not forgive them Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “And their idols with them”; cf. vv. 17–21.

Go deep into the rock,Bury yourselves in the ground,Before the terror of GOD And God’s dread majesty!

The haughty look of humans shall be brought low,And the pride of mortals shall be humbled.None but GOD shall beExalted in that day.

For GOD of Hosts has ready a dayAgainst all that is proud and arrogant,Against all that is lofty—so that it is brought low:

Against all the cedars of Lebanon,Tall and stately,And all the oaks of Bashan;

Against all the high mountainsAnd all the lofty hills;

Against every soaring towerAnd every mighty wall;

Against all the ships of Tarshishgships of Tarshish Probably a type of large ship. And all the gallant barks.

Then human haughtiness shall be humbledAnd the pride of mortals brought low.None but GOD shall beExalted in that day.

As for idols, they shall vanish completely.

And people shall enter caverns in the rockAnd hollows in the ground—Before the terror of GOD And God’s dread majesty,When [the Holy One] comes forth to overawe the earth.

On that day, humans shall fling away,To the flying foxeshflying foxes Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain. and the bats,The idols of silverAnd the idols of goldWhich they made for worshiping.

And they shall enter the clefts in the rocksAnd the crevices in the cliffs,Before GOD’s terror And dread majesty,When [the Holy One] comes forth to overawe the earth.

Oh, cease to glorify human beings,Who have only a breath in their nostrils!For by what do they merit esteem?