Isaiah 2
2
1#This editorial heading probably introduced the collection of chaps. 2–12, to which chap. 1 with its introduction was added later (see note on 1:2–31). This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Zion, the Royal City of God
2#These verses contain two very important oracles, one on the pilgrimage of nations to Mount Zion (vv. 2–4—completed with an invitation to the “house of Jacob,” v. 5), the other on the day of the Lord (see note on Am 5:18), which was probably composed from at least two earlier pieces. Whereas vv. 6–8 indict Judah for trust in superstitious practices and human resources rather than in the Lord, the following verses are directed against humankind in general and emphasize the effect of the “day of the Lord,” the humbling of human pride. This may be taken as a precondition for the glorious vision of vv. 2–4. This vision of Zion’s glorious future, which is also found in a slightly variant form in Mi 4:1–4, is rooted in the early Zion tradition, cultivated in the royal cult in Jerusalem. It celebrated God’s choice of Jerusalem as the divine dwelling place, along with God’s choice of the Davidic dynasty (Ps 68:16–17; 78:67–72; 132:13–18). Highest mountain: the Zion tradition followed earlier mythological conceptions that associate the abode of deities with very high mountains (Ps 48:2–3). The lifting of Mount Zion is a metaphor for universal recognition of the Lord’s authority. In days to come,
The mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it.#Mi 4:1–4.
3Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”#Is 56:7; 2 Kgs 17:26–28; Jer 31:6–14; Zec 8:20–23.
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4#Once the nations acknowledge God as sovereign, they go up to Jerusalem to settle their disputes, rather than having recourse to war. He shall judge between the nations,
and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;#Jl 4:10.
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.#Is 9:7; 11:4; Ps 46:10; Zec 9:10.
5#This verse is added as a conclusion to vv. 2–4; cf. Mi 4:4–5, where a quite different conclusion is provided for the parallel version of this oracle. House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
The Lord’s Day of Judgment on Pride
6You have abandoned your people,
the house of Jacob!
Because they are filled with diviners,
and soothsayers, like the Philistines;
with foreigners they clasp hands.#Is 10:32.
7Their land is full of silver and gold,
there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is full of horses,
there is no end to their chariots.
8Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the works of their hands,
what their fingers have made.#Is 17:7–8; 31:1–3.
9So all shall be abased,
each one brought low.#Bowing down to idols will not bring deliverance to Israel, but rather total abasement. Do not pardon them: this line is so abrupt that it is almost certainly an intrusion in the text.
Do not pardon them!
10Get behind the rocks,
hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
11The eyes of human pride shall be lowered,
the arrogance of mortals shall be abased,
and the Lord alone will be exalted, on that day.#That day: i.e., the day of the Lord; cf. note on Am 5:18.
12For the Lord of hosts will have his day
against all that is proud and arrogant,
against all that is high, and it will be brought low;
13Yes, against all the cedars of Lebanon#Lebanon: Mount Lebanon in Syria, famed for its cedars. Bashan: the fertile uplands east of the Sea of Galilee.
and against all the oaks of Bashan,
14Against all the lofty mountains
and all the high hills,
15Against every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16Against all the ships of Tarshish
and all stately vessels.
17Then human pride shall be abased,
the arrogance of mortals brought low,
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
18The idols will vanish completely.
19People will go into caves in the rocks
and into holes in the earth,
At the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
as he rises to overawe the earth.
20On that day people shall throw to moles and bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold
which they made for themselves to worship.
21And they shall go into caverns in the rocks
and into crevices in the cliffs,
At the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
as he rises to overawe the earth.
22#The meaning of this verse, certainly a later addition, is not clear. It is not addressed to God but to a plural subject. As for you, stop worrying about mortals,
in whose nostrils is but a breath;
for of what worth are they?
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 2
2
II
1THE WORD WHICH WAS REVEALED UNTO ISAIAH, THE SON OF AMOZ, CONCERNING JUDAH AND JERUSALEM.
2It shall come to pass in the last days,
That the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established on the top of the mountains;
And it shall be exalted above the hills:
And all the nations shall flow unto it.
3And many people shall go, and say;
Come on, 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 from Zion shall go forth the law;
And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
4And he shall judge among the nations,
And give sentence to many people:
And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
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.
6Therefore thou hast abandoned thy people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are full of the East,
And are soothsayers like the Philistines;
And they join hand in hand with the children of strangers.
7Their land is full of silver and gold;
And there is no end to their treasures:
Their land is full of horses:
And there is no end to their chariots.
8Their land is full of idols;
Before the work of their own hands do they prostrate themselves;
Before that which their own fingers have made.
9Wherefore the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled;
And thou wilt not forgive them.
10Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust;
For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his majesty.
11The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
And the haughtiness of mortals shall be bowed down:
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
12For there is unto Jehovah of hosts a day against every thing proud and lofty;
And against every thing exalted, that it shall be humbled.
13Even against all the cedars of Lebanon, the high and the exalted;
And against all the oaks of Bashan:
14And against all the high mountains,
And against all the exalted hills:
15And against every high raised tower;
And against every fenced wall.
16And against all the ships of Tarshish;
And against every desirable work of art.
17And the pride of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of mortals shall be humbled;
And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And the idols shall be utterly destroyed.
19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth;
For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his majesty,
When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20In that day shall men cast away their idols of silver,
And their idols of gold, which they had made for themselves to worship,
To the moles and to the bats:
21To go into the caves of the rocks, and into the clefts of the craggy rocks:
For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his majesty,
When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22Cease ye from trust in man, whose breath is in his nostrils;
For wherein is he of any account?
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.