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 King James Version
The Future House of God(A)
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 Now (B)it shall come to pass (C)in the latter days
(D)That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,
(E)“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
(F)For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
And rebuke many people;
They shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning [a]hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war anymore.
The Day of the Lord
5 O house of Jacob, come and let us (G)walk
In the light of the Lord.
6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled (H)with eastern ways;
They are (I)soothsayers like the Philistines,
(J)And they [b]are pleased with the children of foreigners.
7 (K)Their land is also full of silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is also full of horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 (L)Their land is also full of idols;
They worship the work of their own hands,
That which their own fingers have made.
9 People bow down,
And each man humbles himself;
Therefore do not forgive them.
10 (M)Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty.
11 The [c]lofty looks of man shall be (N)humbled,
The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
And the Lord alone shall be exalted (O)in that day.
12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,
Upon everything lifted up—
And it shall be brought low—
13 Upon all (P)the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan;
14 (Q)Upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up;
15 Upon every high tower,
And upon every fortified wall;
16 (R)Upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all the beautiful sloops.
17 The [d]loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low;
The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the idols [e]He shall utterly abolish.
19 They shall go into the (S)holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of the [f]earth,
(T)From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises (U)to shake the earth mightily.
20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver
And his idols of gold,
Which they made, each for himself to worship,
To the moles and bats,
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the crags of the rugged rocks,
From the terror of the Lord
And the glory of His majesty,
When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
22 (V)Sever[g] yourselves from such a man,
Whose (W)breath is in his nostrils;
For [h]of what account is he?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:4 knives
- Isaiah 2:6 Or clap, shake hands to make bargains with the children
- Isaiah 2:11 proud
- Isaiah 2:17 pride
- Isaiah 2:18 Or shall utterly vanish
- Isaiah 2:19 Lit. dust
- Isaiah 2:22 Lit. Cease yourselves from the man
- Isaiah 2:22 Lit. in what is he to be esteemed
Isaiah 2
English Standard Version
The Mountain of the Lord
2 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 (A)It shall come to pass in the latter days
that (B)the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and (C)all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and (D)many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For (E)out of Zion shall go forth the law,[a]
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
(F)and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
(G)nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in (H)the light of the Lord.
The Day of the Lord
6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things (I)from the east
and (J)of fortune-tellers (K)like the Philistines,
and they (L)strike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is (M)filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is (N)filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is (O)filled with idols;
they bow down to (P)the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man (Q)is humbled,
and each one (R)is brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 (S)Enter into the rock
and hide in the dust
(T)from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 (U)The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 (V)For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the (W)cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the (X)oaks of Bashan;
14 against all (Y)the lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all (Z)the ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
17 (AA)And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 (AB)And the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 (AC)And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,[b]
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
(AD)when he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day (AE)mankind will cast away
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the (AF)bats,
21 (AG)to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
(AH)when he rises to terrify the earth.
22 (AI)Stop regarding man
(AJ)in whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:3 Or teaching
- Isaiah 2:19 Hebrew dust
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
