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Isaiah 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Isaiah 2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 2
1 [a]This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Zion, the Royal City of God
2 [b]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)
3 Many 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 [c]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 [d]House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
The Lord’s Day of Judgment on Pride
6 You 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)
7 Their 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.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the works of their hands,
what their fingers have made.(F)
9 So all shall be abased,
each one brought low.[e]
Do not pardon them!
10 Get behind the rocks,
hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of human pride shall be lowered,
the arrogance of mortals shall be abased,
and the Lord alone will be exalted, on that day.[f]
12 For 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;
13 Yes, against all the cedars of Lebanon[g]
and against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the lofty mountains
and all the high hills,
15 Against every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 Against all the ships of Tarshish
and all stately vessels.
17 Then human pride shall be abased,
the arrogance of mortals brought low,
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
18 The idols will vanish completely.
19 People 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.
20 On 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.
21 And 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 [h]As for you, stop worrying about mortals,
in whose nostrils is but a breath;
for of what worth are they?
Footnotes
- 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.
Isaiah 2
New International Version
Isaiah 2
New International Version
The Mountain of the Lord(A)
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(B)
2 In the last days(C)
the mountain(D) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;(E)
it will be exalted(F) above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.(G)
3 Many peoples(H) will come and say,
“Come, let us go(I) up to the mountain(J) of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(K) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(L)
4 He will judge(M) between the nations
and will settle disputes(N) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(O)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,(P)
nor will they train for war anymore.
The Day of the Lord
6 You, Lord, have abandoned(S) your people,
the descendants of Jacob.(T)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination(U) like the Philistines(V)
and embrace(W) pagan customs.(X)
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;(Y)
there is no end to their treasures.(Z)
Their land is full of horses;(AA)
there is no end to their chariots.(AB)
8 Their land is full of idols;(AC)
they bow down(AD) to the work of their hands,(AE)
to what their fingers(AF) have made.
9 So people will be brought low(AG)
and everyone humbled(AH)—
do not forgive them.[a](AI)
10 Go into the rocks, hide(AJ) in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!(AK)
11 The eyes of the arrogant(AL) will be humbled(AM)
and human pride(AN) brought low;(AO)
the Lord alone will be exalted(AP) in that day.(AQ)
12 The Lord Almighty has a day(AR) in store
for all the proud(AS) and lofty,(AT)
for all that is exalted(AU)
(and they will be humbled),(AV)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,(AW) tall and lofty,(AX)
and all the oaks of Bashan,(AY)
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,(AZ)
15 for every lofty tower(BA)
and every fortified wall,(BB)
16 for every trading ship[b](BC)
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low(BD)
and human pride humbled;(BE)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,(BF)
18 and the idols(BG) will totally disappear.(BH)
19 People will flee to caves(BI) in the rocks
and to holes in the ground(BJ)
from the fearful presence(BK) of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(BL)
when he rises to shake the earth.(BM)
20 In that day(BN) people will throw away
to the moles and bats(BO)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(BP)
which they made to worship.(BQ)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(BR)
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(BS)
when he rises(BT) to shake the earth.(BU)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:9 Or not raise them up
- Isaiah 2:16 Hebrew every ship of Tarshish
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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