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The Message About Jerusalem

Isaiah son of Amoz saw this ·message [vision; word] about Judah and Jerusalem:
    [L It shall be] In the ·last [final; latter] days
the mountain ·on which the Lord’s Temple stands [L of the house of the Lord; C Mount Zion]
    will ·become [be established as; endure as] the ·most important [chief; or highest] of all mountains.
It will be ·raised [exalted] above the hills,
    and ·people from all nations [L all nations] will come streaming to it.
Many ·nations [peoples] will come and say,
    “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the ·Temple [L house] of the God of Jacob.
·Then [or So that] he will teach us his ·ways [standards; path],
    and we will ·obey his teachings [L walk in his paths].”
·His teachings [The Law; Instruction; L Torah] will go out from Jerusalem;
    the ·message [word] of the Lord will go out from Jerusalem.
He will ·settle arguments among [judge/mediate between] the ·nations [peoples]
    and will ·make decisions [settle disputes] for many ·peoples [nations].
Then they will ·make [beat; hammer] their swords into ·plows [T plowshares; C the metal tip of the plow]
    and their spears into ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks].
Nations will no longer ·fight [L raise the sword against] other nations,
    nor will they train for war anymore [Mic. 4:1–3].

Come, ·family [descendants; L house] of Jacob,
and let us ·follow the way [L walk in the light] of the Lord.

A Terrible Day Is Coming

Lord, you have ·left [abandoned; rejected] your people,
    the ·family [descendants; L house] of Jacob,
because they have become filled ·with wrong ideas from people in the East [or with superstitions from the East; L from the East].
    They ·try to tell the future [consult soothsayers; practice divination] like the Philistines [Lev. 19:26; Deut. 18:9–14],
    and ·they have completely accepted those foreign ideas [or they clasp hands/make alliances with foreigners; or the children of foreigners are everywhere].
Their land has been filled with silver and gold;
    there ·are a great many [L is no end/limit to their] treasures there.
Their land has been filled with horses;
    there ·are many [L is no end/limit to their] chariots there [C Israel was to rely on God, not on horses and chariots; Deut. 17:16–17].
Their land is full of idols.
    The people worship ·these idols they made with [L the work of] their own hands
    and shaped with their own fingers [Rom. 1:23].
People will ·be humbled [be brought low; or bow down to worship]
    and will bow low ·with shame [or in worship].
God, do not ·forgive [spare; L lift] them.

10 Go into the ·caves of the cliffs [L rocks];
    ·dig holes and hide in the ground [L hide in the dust/ground]
from the ·anger [terror; terrible presence] of the Lord
    and from ·his great power [the majesty/glory/splendor of his majesty]!
11 ·Proud people [L The eyes of the proud] will be ·made humble [brought down],
    and ·they [human arrogance/loftiness] will ·bow low with shame [be humbled].
·At that time [L In that day] only the Lord will still be ·praised [exalted].

12 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] has a ·certain day planned [L day]
    when he will ·punish [bring judgment on; turn against] all the proud and all those who ·brag [are lifted up],
    and they will ·no longer be important [be humbled/humiliated/brought low].
13 ·He will bring down [L …against] all the ·tall [exalted and mighty/lifted up] cedar trees from Lebanon
    and all the great oak trees of Bashan,
14 all the ·tall [lofty; exalted] mountains
    and the high hills,
15 every ·tall [lofty] tower
    and every ·high, strong [fortified] wall,
16 all the ·trading ships [L ships of Tarshish; C large trading vessels capable of going to distant ports; Tarshish may have been in Spain (Tartessus) or an island in the eastern Mediterranean; 23:1; Jon. 1:3]
    and the beautiful ·ships [vessels].
17 ·Proud people [Human pride] will be made humble,
    and ·they [arrogant people] will ·bow low with shame [be brought low].
·At that time [L In that day] only the Lord will be ·praised [exalted],
18     but all the idols will ·be gone [disappear; pass away].

19 People will run to caves in the ·rocky cliffs [rocks]
    and ·will dig holes and hide [L to holes] in the ground
from the ·anger [terror; terrible presence] of the Lord
    and ·his great power [the majesty/glory/splendor of his majesty; v. 10],
    when he ·stands [rises] to shake the earth.
20 ·At that time [L In that day] people will throw away
    their gold and silver idols,
which they made for themselves to worship;
    they will throw them away to the bats and moles.
21 Then the people will hide in ·caves [caverns/crevices in rocks]
    and ·cracks [clefts] in the rocks
from the ·anger [terror; terrible presence] of the Lord
    and ·his great power [the majesty/glory/splendor of his majesty; v. 19],
when he stands to ·shake [tremble; or terrify] the earth.

22 Stop trusting in people to save you [L Cease from man/people],
    ·because people are only human [L whose breath is in his nostrils];
·they aren’t able to help you [what good are they; or why do you esteem them?].

God’s Universal Reign

The word which (A)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will come about that
(B)In the last days
The (C)mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established [a]as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And (D)all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
So that He may teach us [b]about His ways,
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For [c]the law will go out (E)from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between the nations,
And will mediate for many peoples;
And (F)they will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning knives.
(G)Nation will not lift up a sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

Come, (H)house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the (I)light of the Lord.
For You have (J)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers (K)like the Philistines.
They also [d](L)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with (M)horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
Their land has also been (N)filled with idols;
They worship the (O)work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
So (P)the common person has been humbled
And the person of importance has been brought low,
But (Q)do not forgive them.
10 (R)Enter the rocky place and hide in the dust
(S)From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The [e](T)proud look of humanity will be brought low,
And the (U)arrogance of people will be humbled;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

A Day of Reckoning Coming

12 For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against (V)everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the (W)oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the (X)lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every (Y)high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the (Z)ships of Tarshish
And against all the delightful ships.
17 And the pride of humanity will be humbled
And the arrogance of people will be brought low;
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day,
18 And the (AA)idols will completely vanish.
19 People will (AB)go into caves of the rocks
And into holes in the [f]ground
Away from the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises (AC)to terrify the earth.
20 On that day people will (AD)throw away to the moles and the (AE)bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to (AF)go into the clefts of the rocks and the crannies of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to terrify the earth.
22 [g](AG)Take no account of man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For [h](AH)why should he be esteemed?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 2:2 Lit on
  2. Isaiah 2:3 Or some of
  3. Isaiah 2:3 Or instruction
  4. Isaiah 2:6 Lit clap their hands
  5. Isaiah 2:11 Lit eyes of the pride of man
  6. Isaiah 2:19 Lit dust
  7. Isaiah 2:22 Or Stop caring about
  8. Isaiah 2:22 Lit in what