Isaiah 2

11. lofty looks--literally, "eyes of pride" ( Psalms 18:27 ).
humbled--by calamities. God will so vindicate His honor "in that day" of judgments, that none else "shall be exalted" ( Zechariah 14:9 ).

12. Man has had many days: "the day of the Lord" shall come at last, beginning with judgment, a never-ending day in which God shall be "all in all" ( 1 Corinthians 15:28 , 2 Peter 3:10 ).
every--not merely person, as English Version explains it, but every thing on which the nation prided itself.

13. cedars . . . oaks--image for haughty nobles and princes ( Amos 2:9 , Zechariah 11:1 Zechariah 11:2 ; compare Revelation 19:18-21 ).
Bashan--east of Jordan, north of the river Jabbok, famous for fine oaks, pasture, and cattle. Perhaps in "oaks" there is reference to their idolatry ( Isaiah 1:29 ).

14. high . . . hills--referring to the "high places" on which sacrifices were unlawfully offered, even in Uzziah's (equivalent to Azariah) reign ( 2 Kings 15:4 ). Also, places of strength, fastnesses in which they trusted, rather than in God; so

15. tower . . . wall--Towers were often made on the walls of cities.
fenced--strongly fortified.

16. Tarshish--Tartessus in southwest Spain, at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, near Gibraltar. It includes the adjoining region: a Phoenician colony; hence its connection with Palestine and the Bible ( 2 Chronicles 9:21 ). The name was also used in a wide sense for the farthest west, as our West Indies ( Isaiah 66:19 , Psalms 48:7 , 72:10 ). "Ships of Tarshish" became a phrase for richly laden and far-voyaging vessels. The judgment shall be on all that minister to man's luxury (compare Revelation 18:17-19 ).
pictures--ordered to be destroyed ( Numbers 33:52 ). Still to be seen on the walls of Nineveh's palaces. It is remarkable that whereas all other ancient civilized nations, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, Rome, have left monuments in the fine arts, Judea, while rising immeasurably above them in the possession of "the living oracles," has left none of the former. The fine arts, as in modern Rome, were so often associated with polytheism, that God required His people in this, as in other respects, to be separate from the nations ( Deuteronomy 4:15-18 ). But Vulgate translation is perhaps better, "All that is beautiful to the sight"; not only paintings, but all luxurious--ornaments. One comprehensive word for all that goes before (compare Revelation 18:12 Revelation 18:14 Revelation 18:16 ).

17. Repeated from Isaiah 2:11 , for emphatic confirmation.

18. idols--literally, "vain things," "nothings" ( 1 Corinthians 8:4 ). Fulfilled to the letter. Before the Babylonian captivity the Jews were most prone to idolatry; in no instance, ever since. For the future fulfilment, see Zechariah 13:2 , Revelation 13:15 , 19:20 .

19. The fulfilment answers exactly to the threat ( Isaiah 2:10 ).
they--the idol-worshippers.
caves--abounding in Judea, a hilly country; hiding-places in times of alarm ( 1 Samuel 13:6 ).
shake . . . earth--and the heavens also ( Hebrews 12:26 ). Figure for severe and universal judgments.

20. moles--Others translate "mice." The sense is, under ground, in darkness.
bats--unclean birds ( Leviticus 11:19 ), living amidst tenantless ruins ( Revelation 11:13 ).

22. The high ones ( Isaiah 2:11 Isaiah 2:13 ) on whom the people trust, shall be "brought low" ( Isaiah 3:2 ); therefore "cease from" depending on them, instead of on the Lord ( Psalms 146:3-5 ).