Isaiah 2
Good News Translation
Everlasting Peace(A)
2 Here is the message which God gave to Isaiah son of Amoz about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In days to come
the mountain where the Temple stands
will be the highest one of all,
towering above all the hills.
Many nations will come streaming to it,
3 and their people will say,
“Let us go up the hill of the Lord,[a]
to the Temple of Israel's God.
He will teach us what he wants us to do;
we will walk in the paths he has chosen.
For the Lord's teaching comes from Jerusalem;
from Zion he speaks to his people.”
4 (B)He will settle disputes among great nations.
They will hammer their swords into plows
and their spears into pruning knives.
Nations will never again go to war,
never prepare for battle again.
5 Now, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light which the Lord gives us!
Arrogance Will Be Destroyed
6 O God, you have forsaken your people, the descendants of Jacob! The land is full of magic practices from the East and from Philistia.[b] The people follow foreign customs. 7 Their land is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. 8 Their land is full of idols, and they worship objects that they have made with their own hands.
9 Everyone will be humiliated and disgraced. Do not forgive them, Lord!
10 (C)They will hide in caves in the rocky hills or dig holes in the ground to try to escape from the Lord's anger and to hide from his power and glory! 11 A day is coming when human pride will be ended and human arrogance destroyed. Then the Lord alone will be exalted. 12 On that day the Lord Almighty will humble everyone who is powerful, everyone who is proud and conceited. 13 He will destroy the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the oaks in the land of Bashan. 14 He will level the high mountains and hills, 15 every high tower, and the walls of every fortress. 16 He will sink even the largest and most beautiful ships. 17-18 Human pride will be ended, and human arrogance will be destroyed. Idols will completely disappear, and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
19 People will hide in caves in the rocky hills or dig holes in the ground to try to escape from the Lord's anger and to hide from his power and glory, when he comes to shake the earth. 20 When that day comes, they will throw away the gold and silver idols they have made, and abandon them to the moles and the bats. 21 When the Lord comes to shake the earth, people will hide in holes and caves in the rocky hills to try to escape from his anger and to hide from his power and glory.
22 Put no more confidence in mortals. What are they worth?
Footnotes
- Isaiah 2:3 Mount Zion, the hill in Jerusalem which formed part of the area on which the Temple was built.
- Isaiah 2:6 Probable text The land … Philistia; Hebrew unclear.
Isaiah 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Future House of God
2 The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.(A)
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.(B)
3 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 out of Zion shall go forth instruction
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(C)
4 He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.(D)
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!(E)
Judgment Pronounced on Arrogance
6 You have forsaken your people,
the house of Jacob,
for they are full of diviners[a] from the East
and of soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they clasp hands with foreigners.(F)
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.(G)
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.(H)
9 And so people are humbled,
and everyone is brought low—
[[do not forgive them!(I)
10 Enter into the rock,
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty.]][b](J)
11 The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
and the pride of everyone shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(K)
12 For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up and high;[c](L)
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;(M)
14 against all the high mountains
and against all the lofty hills;(N)
15 against every high tower
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships of Tarshish
and against all the highly prized vessels.(O)
17 The haughtiness of people shall be humbled,
and the pride of everyone shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.(P)
18 The idols shall utterly pass away.(Q)
19 Enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground,
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.(R)
20 On that day people will throw away
to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,(S)
21 to enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts in the crags,
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth.(T)
22 [[Turn away from mortals,
who have only breath in their nostrils,
for of what account are they?]][d](U)
Isaiah 2
Complete Jewish Bible
2 This is the word that Yesha‘yahu the son of Amotz saw concerning Y’hudah and Yerushalayim:
2 In the acharit-hayamim
the mountain of Adonai’s house
will be established as the most important mountain.
It will be regarded more highly than the other hills,
and all the Goyim will stream there.
3 Many peoples will go and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Adonai,
to the house of the God of Ya‘akov!
He will teach us about his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah,
the word of Adonai from Yerushalayim.
4 He will judge between the nations
and arbitrate for many peoples.
Then they will hammer their swords into plow-blades
and their spears into pruning-knives;
nations will not raise swords at each other,
and they will no longer learn war.
5 Descendants of Ya‘akov, come!
Let’s live in the light of Adonai!
6 For you have abandoned your people
the house of Ya‘akov.
Now they are filled from the east,
full of sorcerers, like the P’lishtim;
even the children of foreigners
are enough for them!
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
They have no end of treasures.
Their land is full of horses;
They have no end of chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
everyone worships the work of his hands,
what his own fingers have made.
9 A person bows down, a man lowers himself —
don’t forgive them!
10 Come into the rock, hide in the dust
to escape the terror of Adonai
and the glory of his majesty.
11 The proud looks of man will be humiliated;
the arrogance of men will be bowed down;
and when that day comes,
Adonai alone will be exalted.
12 Yes, Adonai-Tzva’ot has a day in store
for all who are proud and lofty,
for all who are lifted high to be humiliated;
13 for all cedars of the L’vanon that are high and lifted up,
for all the oaks of the Bashan;
14 for all the high mountains,
for all the hills that are lifted up;
15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall;
16 for every “Tarshish” ship,
for every luxurious vessel.
17 The pride of man will be bowed down,
the arrogance of men will be humiliated,
and when that day comes,
Adonai alone will be exalted.
18 The idols will be completely abolished.
19 People will enter cracks in the rocks
and holes in the ground
to escape the terror of Adonai
and his glorious majesty,
when he sets out to convulse the earth.
20 On that day a man will take hold
of his idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
and fling them away to the moles and bats!
21 Then they will enter the cracks in the rocks
and the crevices in the cliffs
to escape the terror of Adonai
and his glorious majesty,
when he sets out to convulse the earth.
22 Stop relying on man,
in whose nostrils is a mere breath —
after all, he doesn’t count for much,
does he?
Isaiah 2
The Message
Climb God’s Mountain
2 1-5 The Message Isaiah got regarding Judah and Jerusalem:
There’s a day coming
when the mountain of God’s House
Will be The Mountain—
solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will river toward it,
people from all over set out for it.
They’ll say, “Come,
let’s climb God’s Mountain,
go to the House of the God of Jacob.
He’ll show us the way he works
so we can live the way we’re made.”
Zion’s the source of the revelation.
God’s Message comes from Jerusalem.
He’ll settle things fairly between nations.
He’ll make things right between many peoples.
They’ll turn their swords into shovels,
their spears into hoes.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won’t play war anymore.
Come, family of Jacob,
let’s live in the light of God.
6-9 God, you’ve walked out on your family Jacob
because their world is full of hokey religion,
Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus,
a world rolling in wealth,
Stuffed with things,
no end to its machines and gadgets,
And gods—gods of all sorts and sizes.
These people make their own gods and worship what they make.
A degenerate race, facedown in the gutter.
Don’t bother with them! They’re not worth forgiving!
Pretentious Egos Brought Down to Earth
10 Head for the hills,
hide in the caves
From the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence.
11-17 People with a big head are headed for a fall,
pretentious egos brought down a peg.
It’s God alone at front-and-center
on the Day we’re talking about,
The Day that God-of-the-Angel-Armies
is matched against all big-talking rivals,
against all swaggering big names;
Against all giant sequoias
hugely towering,
and against the expansive chestnut;
Against Kilimanjaro and Annapurna,
against the ranges of Alps and Andes;
Against every soaring skyscraper,
against all proud obelisks and statues;
Against ocean-going luxury liners,
against elegant three-masted schooners.
The swelled big heads will be punctured bladders,
the pretentious egos brought down to earth,
Leaving God alone at front-and-center
on the Day we’re talking about.
18 And all those sticks and stones
dressed up to look like gods
will be gone for good.
19 Clamber into caves in the cliffs,
duck into any hole you can find.
Hide from the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence,
When he assumes his full stature on earth,
towering and terrifying.
20-21 On that Day men and women will take
the sticks and stones
They’ve decked out in gold and silver
to look like gods and then worshiped,
And they will dump them
in any ditch or gully,
Then run for rock caves
and cliff hideouts
To hide from the terror of God,
from his dazzling presence,
When he assumes his full stature on earth,
towering and terrifying.
22 Quit scraping and fawning over mere humans,
so full of themselves, so full of hot air!
Can’t you see there’s nothing to them?
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson