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1Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz.[#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.; #tn Heb “the word which Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”]
2In the future[#tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.]
the mountain of the Lord ’s temple will endure
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills.
All the nations will stream to it,
3many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord ’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so he can teach us his requirements,
and we can follow his standards.”
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction;
the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem.
4He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
5O descendants of Jacob,[#tn Heb “house,” referring to the family line or descendants (likewise in v. 6).]
come, let us walk in the Lord ’s guiding light.
6Indeed, O Lord , you have abandoned your people,[#tn The words “O Lord” are supplied in the translation for clarification. Isaiah addresses the Lord in prayer.]
the descendants of Jacob.
For diviners from the east are everywhere;
they consult omen readers like the Philistines do.
Plenty of foreigners are around.
7Their land is full of gold and silver;
there is no end to their wealth.
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots.
8Their land is full of worthless idols;
they worship the product of their own hands,
what their own fingers have fashioned.
9Men bow down to them in homage,
they lie flat on the ground in worship.
Don’t spare them!
10Go up into the rocky cliffs,
hide in the ground.
Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord ,
from his royal splendor!
11Proud men will be brought low,
arrogant men will be humiliated;
the Lord alone will be exalted
in that day.
12Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment,[#tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”]
for all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
13for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan;
14for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills,
15for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
16for all the large ships,[#tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.]
for all the impressive ships.
17Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low;
the Lord alone will be exalted
in that day.
18The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.[#tc The verb “pass away” is singular in the Hebrew text, despite the plural subject (“worthless idols”) that precedes. The verb should be emended to a plural; the final vav (ו) has been accidentally omitted by haplography (note the vav at the beginning of the immediately following form).tn Heb “will completely pass away”; ASV “shall utterly pass away.”]
19They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs[#tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.]
and into holes in the ground,
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.
20At that time men will throw[#tn Or “in that day” (KJV).]
their silver and gold idols,
which they made for themselves to worship,
into the caves where rodents and bats live,
21so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs
and the openings under the rocky overhangs,
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.
22Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life’s breath is in their nostrils.
For why should they be given special consideration?