Isaiah

Introduction
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2
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CHAPTER 2

1^* This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Zion, the Royal City of God

2^* 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.^a

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.”^b

For from Zion shall go forth instruction,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4^* 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;^c

One nation shall not raise the sword against another,

nor shall they train for war again.^d

5^* 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.^e

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.^f

9So all shall be abased,

each one brought low.^*

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.^*

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^*

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^* As for you, stop worrying about mortals,

in whose nostrils is but a breath;

for of what worth are they?

* [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).

* [2:2–22] 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.

* [2:4] Once the nations acknowledge God as sovereign, they go up to Jerusalem to settle their disputes, rather than having recourse to war.

* [2:5] 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.

* [2:9] 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.

* [2:11] That day: i.e., the day of the Lord; cf. note on Am 5:18.

* [2:13] Lebanon: Mount Lebanon in Syria, famed for its cedars. Bashan: the fertile uplands east of the Sea of Galilee.

* [2:22] The meaning of this verse, certainly a later addition, is not clear. It is not addressed to God but to a plural subject.

a. [2:2–4] Mi 4:1–4.

b. [2:3] Is 56:7; 2 Kgs 17:26–28; Jer 31:6–14; Zec 8:20–23.

c. [2:4] Jl 4:10.

d. [2:4] Is 9:7; 11:4; Ps 46:10; Zec 9:10.

e. [2:6] Is 10:32.

f. [2:8] Is 17:7–8; 31:1–3.