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
Revised Geneva Translation
2 The Word that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw upon Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall be in the last days that the Mountain of the House of the LORD shall be prepared in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow to it.
3 And many people shall go, and say, “Come, and let us go up to the Mountain of the LORD, to the House of the God of Jacob. And He will teach us His ways. And we will walk in His paths.” For the Law shall go forth from Zion, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And He shall judge among the nations and rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into scythes. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, nor shall they learn to fight anymore.
5 O, House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the Law of the LORD.
6 Surely you have forsaken your people, the House of Jacob, because they are full of the East, and sorcerers as the Philistines, and abound with strange children.
7 Their land was also full of silver and gold. And there was no end of their treasures. And their land was full of horses, and their chariots infinite.
8 Their land was also full of idols. They worshipped the work of their own hands which their own fingers had made.
9 And a man bowed himself. And a man humbled himself. Therefore, do not spare them.
10 Enter into the rock and hide yourself in the dust from before the fear of the LORD, and from the Glory of His Majesty.
11 The high look of man shall be humbled. And the loftiness of men shall be abased. And the LORD only shall be exalted on that day.
12 For the day of the LORD of Hosts is upon all the proud and haughty, and upon all that is exalted. And it shall be made low.
13 Even upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and exalted, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14 and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15 and upon every high tower, and upon every strong wall,
16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
17 And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low. And the loftiness of men shall be abased. And the LORD alone shall be exalted on that day.
18 And He will utterly destroy the idols.
19 Then they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the Earth from before the fear of the LORD, and from the Glory of His Majesty, when He shall arise to destroy the Earth.
20 At that day, man shall cast away his silver idols and his golden idols (which they had made for themselves to worship them) to the moles and to the bats,
21 to go into the holes of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks from before the fear of the LORD, and from the Glory of His Majesty, when He shall rise to destroy the Earth.
22 Cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils. For of what account is he?
Esajas 2
Bibelen på hverdagsdansk
Om det fremtidige fredsrige
2 Her er endnu et budskab, som Herren gav Esajas om Judas folk og Jerusalems fremtid:
2 Det skal ske i de sidste dage,
at Herrens tempelbjerg bliver verdens knudepunkt.
Folk fra alverdens lande vil strømme derhen.
3 „Lad os rejse til Herrens bjerg,” vil de sige.
„Lad os tage hen til Israels Guds bolig,
så vi kan lære hans vilje at kende
og følge hans vejledninger,
for den sande lære kommer fra Zion,
Herrens ord udgår fra Jerusalem.”
4 Herren vil afgøre folkenes stridigheder
og være dommer for fjerne stormagter.
Da vil de smede deres sværd om til plovskær
og omdanne deres spyd til vingårdsknive.
Landene vil holde op med at bekrige hinanden,
og alt militær bliver overflødigt.
5 Kom, Israels folk, lad os leve i lyset af Herrens ord!
En advarsel om fremtidig dom
6 Herre, du har forladt dit folk, Jakobs efterkommere, for de har overtaget Østens mystik og filistrenes trolddomskunst. De er gået i forbund med de fremmede. 7-8 Landet er fyldt med afguder, som de tilbeder, skønt de selv har lavet dem. De har overflod af sølv og guld, utrolige skatte og utallige heste og stridsvogne. 9 Men de skal ydmyges og bøjes i støvet. Du kan ikke acceptere den slags utroskab.
10 Flygt ind i klippehuler, Israels folk, skjul jer i kløfter af skræk for Herren, af angst for hans vældige magt og herlighed. 11 De stolte må slå blikket ned, de hovmodige bøje deres hoveder. Herren alene tilkommer al ære. 12 En dag vil Herren, den Almægtige, straffe alle, der er stolte og overlegne, han vil ydmyge alt, hvad der knejser. 13 Libanons cedertræer skal segne, Bashans ege skal styrte om. 14 Herren vil udjævne de høje fjelde og knejsende bjergtoppe, 15 vælte de høje tårne og stejle mure, 16 ødelægge de store handelsskibe og prægtige fartøjer. 17 Stolte mennesker skal bøjes, de hovmodige skal ydmyges. Herren alene skal stå oprejst på den dag. 18 Alle afguder skal tilintetgøres.
19-21 Den dag Herren rejser sig fra sin trone for at ryste jorden, vil folk flygte ind i klippehuler og skjule sig i kløfter af skræk for Herren, for hans vældige magt og herlighed. Og deres afguder, som de lavede af guld og sølv, og som de tilbad, må de overlade til muldvarpe og flagermus.
22 Sæt ikke jeres lid til mennesker. Deres liv er så kort som et åndedrag. Hvad kan de hjælpe?
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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