Isaiah 2:5-22

The Day of Yahweh

5 House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.
6 For you have forsaken your people, house of Jacob, because they are full[a] from [the] east, and [of] soothsayers like the Philistines, and {they make alliances}[b] with the offspring of foreigners.
7 And its land is filled [with] silver and gold, and there is no end to its treasures; and its land is filled [with] horses, and [there is] no end to its chariots.
8 Its land is filled [with] idols; they bow down to the work of their[c] hands, to what they made [with] their[d] fingers.
9 So humanity is humbled; everyone is humbled, and you must not forgive them.
10 Enter into the rock and hide yourself in the dust from the presence of the terror of Yahweh and from the glory of his majesty.
11 The {haughty eyes}[e] of humanity will be brought low, and the pride of everyone will be humbled, and Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.
12 For [there is] a day for Yahweh of hosts against all of [the] proud and [the] lofty and against all that is lifted up and humble,
13 and against all the lofty and lifted up cedars of Lebanon, and against all the large trees of Bashan,
14 and against all the high mountains, and against all the lofty hills,
15 and against every kind of high tower, and against every kind of fortified wall,
16 and against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the ships of desire.
17 And the haughtiness of the people shall be humbled, and the pride of everyone shall be brought low, and Yahweh alone will be exalted on that day.
18 And the idols shall pass away entirely,
19 and they will enter into [the] caves of [the] rocks and into [the] holes of [the] ground from the presence of the terror of Yahweh and from the glory of his majesty {when he rises} to terrify the earth.
20 On that day humanity will throw away its idols of silver and its idols of gold, which they made for it to worship, to the rodents and to the bats--
21 to enter into the crevices of the rocks and into the clefts of the crags from the presence of the terror of Yahweh and from the glory of his majesty, {when he rises} to terrify the earth.
22 Turn away from humanity, who [has] breath in its nostrils, for by what [is] it esteemed?

Isaiah 2:5-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 2

This chapter contains a vision or prophecy of the enlargement of Christ's kingdom and interest, and of the glory of his church in the latter day, by the calling of the Gentiles, and the numerous conversions of them to it, and of the abolition of idolatry, and the destruction of the antichristian party. The inscription to it is in Isa 2:1 the prophecy itself follows; the date of it is the last days; the subject matter of it, the kingdom, interest, and church of Christ, signified by the mountain of the Lord's house; its glorious estate is expressed by its establishment on the mountains; by its exaltation above the hills; and by the great numbers that should flock to it, and should encourage one another to go up to it, in order to learn the ways of God, and walk in them; the means of which is the Gospel preached, that should go out of Jerusalem; the effect of that is peace among the nations: hence the house of Jacob is exhorted to walk in the light held forth by it, Isa 2:2-5 and then the reasons are given of God's rejecting and forsaking some that bear the Christian name, called the house of Jacob; namely, their Heathenish superstition, idolatry, covetousness, and confidence in their riches; who are sarcastically called upon to hide themselves in the rocks for fear of the Lord, Isa 2:6-10 when the judgments of God are denounced on the proud and lofty, comparable to cedars, oaks, mountains, hills, high towers, fenced walls, and ships of the ocean, at which time, Christ, and he alone, will be exalted, and idolatry utterly abolished; the consequence of which will be the utmost dread and terror to all idolaters, Isa 2:11-21 and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to such to cease from the man of sin, and have him in no account, Isa 2:22.

Footnotes 12

Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.