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Isaiah 2
New Catholic Bible
Isaiah 2
New Catholic Bible
The Internal Decadence of a People
Chapter 2
Jerusalem, the Religious Center.[a] 1 This is the vision seen by Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest mountain
and raised high above the hills.
Then all the nations will stream toward it;
3 many peoples will come to it and say,
“Come, let us ascend the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion will go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and serve as an arbiter for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
One nation will not lift up a sword against another,
nor will they ever again be trained for war.
The Lord’s Triumph Will Come[b]
5 Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
6 For you, O Lord, have abandoned your people,
the house of Jacob.
They are surrounded by fortune tellers
and by soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they are allying themselves with foreigners.[c]
7 Their land is full of silver and gold,
and their treasures are without limit.
Their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.[d]
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down before the work of their hands,
before what their own fingers have fashioned.
9 Therefore human nature has been humbled
and mankind has been brought low;
do not forgive them.
10 Let them conceal themselves among the rocks
and hide in the dust
in their terror of the Lord
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of men will be brought low
and human arrogance will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted
on that day.
12 For the Lord of hosts has ordained a day
against all those who are proud and haughty,
against all those who have been exalted and raised high,
13 against all the lofty and proud cedars of Lebanon
and against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 against all the soaring mountains
and all the towering hills,
15 against every high tower
and every fortified wall,
16 against all the ships of Tarshish[e]
and every stately vessel.
17 Human pride will be humbled
and human arrogance will be brought low.
On that day,
the Lord alone will be exalted.
18 The idols will completely disappear;
19 they will crawl into the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
fleeing from the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty
when he arises to strike the world with terror.
20 On that day people will throw away
to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and gold
that they had made for themselves to worship.
21 They will crawl into the crevices of the rocks
and the clefts in the cliffs
to hide from the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty
when he arises to terrify the earth.
22 Have nothing more to do with men
who have only the breath in their nostrils.
Of what value are they?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:1 This theme, which returns often in the third part of the Book (Isa 56:6-8; 60:11-14) and in the Psalms of Zion, especially Ps 48, prepares the way for the expectation of a Messianic city in which all human beings are invited to share the joy of Christ (Heb 12:22; Rev 14:1; 21:10-26).
- Isaiah 2:5 Isaiah is probably referring here to the northern kingdom and its capital, Samaria, which were boasting of their prosperity at the very time when Assyrian invaders were already on the move (722 B.C.).
- Isaiah 2:6 Despite Israelite law and the preaching of the prophets, divination was widely practiced even in Palestine, as in the whole of the East.
- Isaiah 2:7 Chariots: war chariots, the use of which in Palestine went back to Solomon.
- Isaiah 2:16 Ships of Tarshish: Tarshish was perhaps Tartessos in Spain; the name was used for ships capable of lengthy voyages.
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 International Version (NIV) 
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