Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 2:12
For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall be] upon every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is] lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
12. For the day proud ] Render, For Jehovah of Hosts hath a day upon all that is proud (see R.V. marg.). What the prophet asserts is that there is a “day of Jehovah,” in the sense in which he has to announce it. From Amo 5:18 we learn that the phrase was already familiar to the people, but was understood in a sense favourable to themselves. How they arrived at the idea is not known. Probably the word “day” was interpreted as “day of battle,” Jehovah’s “day” being the day of His victory over the enemies of Israel (see Robertson Smith, Proph. of Israel, Revd. Ed. pp. 397 f.). From the time of Amos (if not earlier) the “day of the Lord” becomes a standing designation of the prophets for the final manifestation of Jehovah to judge Israel and the world. Here it is obviously a universal judgment that is predicted.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12 16. The conception, although in the highest degree poetic, is not allegorical. Trees, mountains, ships, &c. are not emblems of kings, magnates, commerce and the like; the destruction of all that is imposing and sublime in nature or art is itself the concrete expression of the idea that “the Lord alone shall be exalted.” The appearing of Jehovah is depicted under the imagery of the thunderstorm, an ancient symbol of the Theophany (cf. Jdg 5:4 f.; Psa 18:7-14; Psa 18:29).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The day … – This expression evidently denotes that the Lord would inflict severe punishment upon every one that was lofty. Such a severe infliction is called the day of the Lord of hosts, because it would be a time when he would particularly manifest himself, and when he would be recognized as the inflicter of that punishment. His coming forth in this manner would give character to that time, and would be the prominent event. The punishment of the wicked is thus freguently called the day of the Lord; Isa 13:6, Isa 13:9 : Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, etc.; Jer 46:10 : The day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance. Eze 30:3; Zep 1:7, Zep 1:14; Joe 2:31; see also in the New Testament, 1Th 5:2; 2Pe 3:10.
Every one that is proud and lofty – Or, rather, every thing that is high and lofty. The phrase is not restricted to persons, though it embraces them. But though the language here is general, the reference is doubtless, mainly, to the princes, magistrates, and nobility of the nation; and is designed not only to designate them as men of rank and power, but as men who were haughty in their demeanour and feelings. At the same time, there is included in the language, as the subsequent verses show, all on which the nation prided itself.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 2:12-17
The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty
Scepticism discomfited by Christs advent
I.
Among THE CAUSES OF THE SPIRIT OF RELIGIOUS SCEPTICISM there are–
1. An early habit of spiritual negligence.
2. A state of exaggerated and credulous belief.
II. Consider THE INSEPARABLE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH A STATE, whatever be the peculiar causes out of which it springs.
1. He who is in suspense about the truth of the Gospel cannot pray. He that cometh to God must believe that He is. He who feels that he has sinned, and that God is holy, knows that he needs a mediator; and he that would trust in a mediator must believe that He is.
2. He cannot resist sin. He who is in suspense about the truth of Christs Gospel is as weak as he who denies it, yea, weaker. For the other knows that he is thrown upon the resources of his own unaided strength, and he summons them all together for his support. But the man who doubts is a divided man. He has cast off his other armour; and this, the armour of God, he cannot take, for he has not proved it.
III. THINK WHAT THE ADVENT WILL BE TO SUCH A MIND. The day of the Lord of hosts will be upon it, and will bring it low. We inquired whether there was a day coming; and behold, it is come. While we inquired and reasoned and speculated, He of whom we doubted was carrying on His judgment upon us. (C. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
The day of the Lord
The flood, the destruction of Sodom, the invasion of Judaea in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar or by Titus, were held by the Jewish prophets and preachers–as the like national crises in ancient and in modern history have ever been held by Christian philosophers and historians–to be days of the Lord, in which He has come to judge the earth; and partial anticipations of the last judgment of the world. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
The day of the Lord and the majestic beauty of nature
(Isa 2:13-14):–Has this language a merely figurative meaning?. . .In order to understand the prophet we must bear in mind what sacred Scripture assumes throughout, that all nature is joined with man to form one common history; that man and the whole world of nature are inseparably connected as centre and circumference; that this circumference likewise is under the influence of the sin which proceeds from man, as well as under the wrath and the grace which proceed from God to man; that the judgments of God, as proved by the history of nations, bring a share of suffering to the subject creation, and that this participation of the lower creation in the corruption and the glory of man will come into special prominence at the close of this worlds history, as it did at the beginning; and lastly, the world in its present form, in order to become an object of the unmixed good pleasure of God, stands as much in need of a regeneration () as the corporeal part of man himself. In accordance with this fundamental view of the Scriptures, therefore, we cannot wonder that, when the judgment of God goes forth upon Israel, it extends to the land of Israel, and, along with the false glory of the nation, overthrows everything glorious in surrounding nature which has been forced to minister to the national pride and love of display, and to which the national sin adhered in many ways. What the prophet predicts was already actually beginning to be fulfilled in the military inroads of the Assyrians. The cedar forest of Lebanon was being unsparingly shorn; the hills and vales of the country were trodden down and laid waste, and, during the period of the worlds history, beginning with Tiglath-Pileser, the holy land was being reduced to a shadow of its former predicted beauty. (F. Delitzsch.)
The Lord of hosts
All the creatures in the universe are the hosts or armies of Jehovah; angels, who excel in strength; the sun, the moon, and the stars; the thunder and the lightning; the wind, the hail, and the rain; the storm and the tempest; the most insignificant insects, such as the flies and the caterpillars; yea, the sand of the sea and the dust of the earth. (R. Macculloch.)
The day of the Lord upon the proud and lofty
Is it personal strength, vigour, and firmness of constitution with which he is elated? Though he be among the sons of the mighty, strong as the children of Anak, the weakness of God is stronger than men; before the Almighty, he is only as a grasshopper, and is easily crushed as the moth. Is it courage and fortitude which hath rendered him valiant, and made his heart as the heart of a lion? He who saith to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, can quickly deprive him of his courage, and render him timorous and faint-hearted, so as to tremble at the shaking of a leaf. Is it riches which are reckoned a strong tower, a defence, and the sinews of strength! The day of the Lord shall blow upon them, and they shall pass away as the flower of the field, or an eagle flying toward heaven. Is it honour and renown that hath lift him up to the pinnacle of earthly glory? God, who overthroweth the mighty, shall bring down all that dignity, on account of which he highly valued himself, and reduce him to the most humiliating condition. History, sacred and profane, confirms the truth of this prediction. (R. Macculloch.)
Man humiliated
Zedekiah, King of Judah, deprived of his royal dignity, of his sons, who were slain before his eyes, and then of his eyesight, was bound in fetters of brass, and carried to Babylon.. Bajazet, the Emperor of Turkey, was bound with fetters of gold, by the victorious Tamerlane, and carried along with him in his march through Asia, in an iron cage, as an object of ridicule. Henry V, Emperor of Germany, was reduced to such poverty, that he went to the great church which he himself had built at Spires, begging the place of a chorister, to keep him from starving. (R. Macculloch.)
Ships of Tarshish
Ships of Tarshish are deep sea ships. Possibly Tartessus, west of the straits of Gibraltar. (A. B. Davidson, LL. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The day of the Lord; the time of Gods taking vengeance upon sinners, which is called Gods day, Isa 13:6,9; Eze 13:5; 30:3, and oft elsewhere.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Man has had many days: “theday of the Lord” shall come at last, beginning with judgment, anever-ending day in which God shall be “all in all”(1Co 15:28; 2Pe 3:10).
everynot merelyperson, as English Version explains it, but every thingon which the nation prided itself.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the day of the Lord of hosts,…. Which is peculiarly his, which he has fixed and appointed, and in which there will be a great display of the glory of his power and grace: this
[shall be] upon every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is] lifted up, and he shall be brought low; either the day of his mighty power and efficacious grace shall be upon them to convert them; when they who thought themselves in a good estate, rich, and standing in need of nothing, shall now perceive themselves to be in a very poor, wretched, and miserable one; and when such who have trusted in and boasted of their own righteousness, and despised others, and would not submit to the righteousness of Christ; shall now renounce their own, and gladly embrace his; and when those who prided themselves with their free will, strength, and power, will now find that they can do nothing of themselves, and without Christ, his Spirit and grace; and such, who fancied that their own right hand could save them, will now see that there is salvation in no other but Christ, and will prostrate themselves before him, and seek unto him alone for peace, pardon, righteousness, and eternal life: or else this means the day of the Lord’s vengeance on his proud and haughty enemies, who would not have him to reign over them; these shall be as stubble, when the day of the Lord, which will burn like an oven, will consume and destroy them, Mal 4:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The expression “that day” suggests the inquiry, What day is referred to? The prophet answers this question in the second strophe. “For Jehovah of hosts hath a day over everything towering and lofty, and over everything exalted; and it becomes low.” “Jehovah hath a day” ( yom layehovah ), lit., there is to Jehovah a day, which already exists as a finished divine thought in that wisdom by which the course of history is guided (Isa 37:26, cf., Isa 22:11), the secret of which He revealed to the prophets, who from the time of Obadiah and Joel downwards proclaimed that day with one uniform watchword. But when the time appointed for that day should arrive, it would pass out of the secret of eternity into the history of time – a day of world-wide judgment, which would pass, through the omnipotence with which Jehovah rules over the hither as well as lower spheres of the whole creation, upon all worldly glory, and it would be brought low ( shaphel ). The current accentuation of Isa 2:12 is wrong; correct MSS have with m ercha , with tifcha . The word v’shaphel (third pers. praet. with the root-vowel ee) acquires the force of a future, although no grammatical future precedes it, from the future character of the day itself: “and it will sink down” (Ges. 126, 4).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 12-21: SINNERS, AND THE DAY OF THE LORD
1. The day of judgment will come – not only upon Judah and Jerusalem, but also upon all men and things, (Act 17:31).
2. The delightful things, wherein men have placed their trust, will be revealed as worthless.
3. With loathing and disgust, the idols men have made as objects of worship will be cast “to the moles and bats” – as worse than worthless!
4. Three times the prophet declares that the pride and haughtiness of man will be utterly broken.
5. Three times mention is made of man’s attempt to hide, or take refuge, in “the holes of the rocks”, “the caves of the earth”, or “the tops of the ragged rocks” – “for fear of the LORD”, Who is coming to judge the earth in righteousness, (comp. Isa 24:20-23; Joe 2:1-3; Joe 2:10-11; Zep 3:8; Luk 21:25-27; Dan 7:9-13; Rev 19:15-17).
Then the prophet gives some sound advice for men of ALL AGES!
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. For the day of the LORD of hosts will be on every one that is proud and lofty In this verse he confirms the same thing more fully and from the vehement manner in which he heaps up words, we may easily infer how bold was the wickedness which at that time abounded. But we shall not wonder that he labors so hard to subdue the arrogance of men, if we consider how difficult it is to bend the stubbornness of those who, relying on their wealth, are afraid of nothing, and who suppose that the design of their elevated rank is, that whatever they do shall pass unpunished. For even at the present day we experience how sensitive and passionate those men are who make arrogant claims for themselves, and how obstinately they reject all admonitions. And this is also the reason why the Prophet uses sharp language against theme instead of threatening vengeance, in general terms, against the whole nation.
Yet it is not against the princes alone, whose high rank raised them far above other men, that his invectives are launched; for not only they, but even persons of the lowest rank, often swell with pride; and, as the common proverb runs, “Every man carries within him the heart of a king.” In like manner, we find that even the basest persons, if you do but prick them with a pill, vomit out the poison of intolerable arrogance. Since, therefore, this vice was so widely spread, Isaiah includes both the highest and the lowest of the people, declaring that in proportion to the forbearance which God had exercised toward them is the severity of the impending judgment; for, in consequence of their abundance, their hearts had swollen to fierceness.
Moreover, though the letter ל, ( lamed,) (45) which is the sign of the dative case, be sometimes superfluous, yet in this passage it retains its force; for it would appear that Isaiah appoints a fixed day, as usually happens in judicial trials. Accordingly, I interpret it to mean that God himself hath previously appointed a day on which proud men must be summoned to the judgment-seat of God, to receive a sentence of condemnation.
We may also learn from these words that God avows himself to be the enemy of all the proud. This appointing of a day is therefore to the same effect as if God declared that he cannot endure men wickedly to indulge in pride, and that they who unduly exalt themselves cannot escape being crushed by his hand. And if our minds were sincerely convinced of this, who would not abhor pride, which provokes the anger of God against us? If any person choose rather to interpret ( superbum et elatum ) proud and lofty as in the neuter gender, meaning that which is proud and lofty, we must understand them to refer to the fortresses, bulwarks, and fortifications; but the rules of grammar do not admit of their being applied in any other way than to persons.
(45) ליהוה The natural rendering of “ Quoniam dies Iehovae exercituum super omnem superbum et exelsum erit “ appears to be what I have given above, for the day of the Lord of hosts will be on every one that is proud and lofty. But if Jehovae be in the dative, and not in the genitive case, the ambiguity might have been partly removed by some such collocation as the following: — Quoniam Jehovae exercituum erit dies , which might have meant, For to the Lord of hosts there will be a day, or, the Lord of hosts will have a day; and such an emphatic meaning of the phrase must have been intended by our author. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) The day of the Lord of hosts shall be . . .Literally, the Lord of hosts hath a day . . . As generally in the prophets, any time of special judgment or special mercy is as a day of Jehovah. Man feels himself in the presence of a higher power, working in this way or in that for righteousness. The phrase. had been specially prominent in the mouth of Isaiahs forerunner, Amos (8:9-13, 9:11).
Upon every one that is proud and lofty . . .The emphatic iteration of lifted up is noticeable as indicating that the prophet sees in that self-assertion the root-evil of his time, that which was most destructive of the fear of the Lord, and most surely brought down judgment on the offender. So the devout historian of Greece reads the teaching of the history which he tells. He saw the loftiest trees most exposed to the lightning-flash, the loftiest monarch most liable to the working of the Divine Nemesis (Herod., vii. 10).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12-17. The lesson of these verses is, that Jehovah antagonizes among his chosen people every thing that compromises the holiness of his law.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
12. The day, etc. The solemn emphasis and reiteration given to these words are an intimation of some unusual event being about to occur. The shock of an earthquake, perhaps. See Isa 2:19.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 2:12. For the day of the Lord of hosts The prophet had declared what was in the designs of the divine court. He now proceeds to explain circumstantially what would be the objects of that judgment; which he lays down metaphorically; designing, first, kings, princes, nobles, kingdoms, republics, cities; Isa 2:12-17. Secondly, idols, with which the Israelites had committed whoredom; Isa 2:18-21. This judgment is thought to refer to that which God exercised upon the Jews by means of Nebuchadnezzar. See Eze 30:3.; Amo 5:20.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
a. The judgment against the things falsely eminent in the sub-human and superhuman spheres
Isa 2:12-21
1213For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be
Upon every one that is proud and lofty,
And upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
13And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14And upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15And upon every high tower,
And upon every fenced wall,
16And upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all 1415pleasant pictures.
17And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
And the haughtiness of men shall be made low:
And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
18And the idols 16he shall utterly abolish.
19And they shall go into the holes of the rocks,
And into the caves of 17the earth,
For fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty,
When he arises to shake terribly the earth.
20In that day a man shall cast 18his idols of silver, and his idols of gold,
19Which they made each one for himself to worship,
To the moles and to the bats;
21To go into the clefts of the rocks,
And into the 20tops of the ragged rocks,
For fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty,
When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
Isa 2:12. in Isaiah only here. is often found: Isa 2:13-14; Isa 6:1; Isa 10:33; Isa 57:15. On comp. above Isa 2:2. is to be construed as future, since must be regarded as a determination of time that points to the future.
Isa 2:16. is . . It comes from certainly, which, although unused itself, is kindred to , to behold, is only now identified in the substantive . According to this etymology must mean , show piece, thus every work of art that is fitted to gratify the beholders eye.
Isa 2:18. I do not deny that is taken as ideal singular, and may accordingly be joined to the predicate in the singular. But then must be taken as adverb. Yet wherever this word occurs (only this once in Isa.; comp. Lev 6:15 sq.; Deu 13:17; Deu 33:10; Jdg 20:40; 1Sa 7:9; Eze 16:14. etc.) it is adjective or substantive: entire or entirety. I agree therefore with Maurer, who takes as casus absolutus put before, and as subject: et idola (quod attinet, eorum) universitas peribit.The fundamental meaning of seems to me to be to change. Out of that develope the apparently opposite meanings revirescere (Psa 90:6; Job 14:7; Isa 9:9; Isa 40:31; Isa 41:1) and transire, prterire, perire (Isa 8:8; Isa 21:1; Psa 102:27). The last is proper here.
Isa 2:19. (in Isaiah again Isa 32:14) is the natural rock caves, (. ., comp. ,) is the cave hewn out by art Notice the paronomasia in .
Isa 2:20. The Prophet might have written here and Isa 30:22; Isa 31:7, , his idols of silver. But he has chosen the common construction, which rests on this, that nomen rectum and nomen regens are construed as one notion, and thus in some measure as one word.If after is taken in a reflexive sense, the enallage numeri would certainly be very strong. Therefore most expositors justly regard the artificers as subject of .The words , as they stand, can only present an infinitive with the prefix, and object following, for there is no noun . But an infinitive does not suit here, and besides there is no noun . Therefore the rendering hole of the mice, for which expositors have gone to the Arabic, is only an arbitrary one. Evidently the Masoretes, according to the analogy of , Isa 61:1, and Jer 46:20 would separate what was to he united. We must then read as one word. But how it is to be pointed is doubtful. According to the analogy of , , ,, we might point it from a singular . The meaning of this word can only be digger. But what sort of burrowing animal is meant, is doubtful. Jerome translated it talpa, mole. Gesenius and Knobel object to that, that the mole does not live in houses: Drechsler that the Hebrew has another word for mole, i.e., . But regarding the former, as Delitzsch, remarks, the mole does, true enough, burrow under buildings, and in regard to the latter consideration of Drechsler, also occurs only once (Lev 11:29), and two words for one thing are not unusual in any language. Yet the foundation for a positive opinion is wanting. is the bat (Lev 11:19; Deu 14:18).
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. With this section the Prophet begins his explication and specification of what he has previously Isa 2:9-11 said in general. That last time, Isa 2:2-4, which the Prophet described above in its glorious aspect for Israel, coincides with the time when the Lord shall sit in judgment on everything humanly high, that is hostile to Him. And even all impersonal things, thus creatures beneath man, on which, in proud arrogance, men put their trust, shall the Lord make small and reduce to nothing; the cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, the high mountains and hills, the towers and walls, the ships of Tarshish, and all other pomp of human desire (Isa 2:12-16). All this shall be abased that the Lord alone may be high (Isa 2:17). But the same shall happen to the beings above men, viz.; to the idols (Isa 2:18). That is the idolaters shall hide themselves in terror before the manifestation of that Jehovah whom they have despised (Isa 2:19); they shall themselves cast their idols to the unclean beasts, in order, mindful only of their own preservation, to be able to creep into the hollows and crevices of the rocks. (21).
2. For the daybrought low.
Isa 2:12. The Prophet had used for the first time Isa 2:11 the expression in that day that afterwards occurs often (comp. Isa 5:17; Isa 5:20; Isa 3:7; Isa 3:18; Isa 4:1-2; Isa 5:30). He points thereby to the time which he had before designated as the last days. Of course he does not mean that this last time shall comprehend only one day in the ordinary sense. The day that Isa., means is a prophetic day, for whose duration we must find a different measure than our human one. With the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. (2Pe 3:8; Psa 90:4). But the chief concern is whether there is really such a day of the Lord. This the Prophet asserts most distinctly. For precisely because there is such a day (for, Isa 2:12) Isaiah could Isa 2:17 refer to it. But this day is a day for Jehovah Sabaoth (comp. Isa 1:9), or more correctly: Jehovah has such in preparation, so to speak, in sure keeping, so that, as soon as it pleases Him, He can produce it for His purpose (comp. Isa 22:5; Isa 34:8, and especially Isa 63:4; Jer 46:10; Eze 30:3). This day is a day of judgment, as already even the older prophets portray it: Joel 1:15; 2:1, 2, 11; 3:4; 4:14; Amo 5:18; Amo 5:20. Oba 1:15. Indeed the notion of judgment is so closely identified with the day of Jehovah that Isaiah in our text construes a day directly as a word signifying court of justice, for he lets depend on it. Once more in Isa 2:12, the notion of high and proud is generally expressed before (Isa 2:13) it is individualized.
3. And upon allin that day.
Isa 2:13-17. The judgment of God must fall on all products of nature (Isa 2:13-14), and upon human art (Isa 2:15-16). It may be asked, how then have the products of nature, the trees and mountains become blameworthy? Knobel, to be sure, understands by the cedars houses made of cedar (comp. 2Sa 7:2; 2Sa 7:7) and by oaks of Bashan houses of oak wood (Eze 27:6) such as Uzziah and Jotham constructed partly for fortifying the land, partly for pleasure, and by mountains and hills the fastnesses that Jotham built in the mountains of Judah (2Ch 27:4). But, though one might understand the cedars to mean houses of cedar, (for which, however, must not be cited Isa 9:9; Nah 2:4, but Jer 22:23 comp. Isa 60:13) still the mountains and hills can never mean fortified places. 2Pe 3:10, seems to me to afford the best commentary on our passage. As sure as angel of theLord of the Old Testament, is identical with the of the New Testament so is also the , day of the Lord identical with the (1Co 1:8; 1Th 5:2, etc.). Now of this day of the Lord it is said, in the above passage in Peter, that in it, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. If now this last great day has its preliminaries, too, like, on the contrary, the revelation of glory Isa 2:2 sqq., has, then we are justified in regarding all degrees of Gods world-judging activity as parts of the day of the Lord. If then the prophet here names only the high mountains and the highest trees growing on them as representatives of nature, he evidently does so because it is his idea, according to the whole context, to make prominent that which is high in an earthly sense, especially what is wont to serve men as means of gratifying their lust of power and pomp. But the mountains and the trees on them could not be destroyed without the earth itself were destroyed. Therefore the high mountains and trees are only named as representatives of the entire terrestrial nature, of the as it is called by Peter, as also afterwards the towers, ships of Tarshish, etc., are only representative of the , the human works, thus the productions of art. The oaks of Bashan, beside this place, are mentioned Eze 27:6; Zec 11:2. A parallel is drawn between Lebanon and Bashan also Isa 33:9; Jer 22:20; Nah 1:4.High towers and strong walls were built by others as well as by Uzziah and Jotham; comp. 2Ch 14:7; 2Ch 32:5, etc.Tarshish is mentioned by Isaiah again: Isa 23:1; Isa 23:6; Isa 23:10; Isa 60:9; Isa 66:19. It is now generally acknowledged that the locality lay in south Spain beyond the Pillars of Hercules. It is the Tartessus of the Greeks; not a city, likely, but the country that lay at the mouth of the Btis (Guadalquiver): comp. Herzog,R. Encycl. XV. p. 684. Ships of Tarshish are thus large ships fitted for distant and dangerous voyages (Jon 1:3; Jon 4:2; 1Ki 10:22; 1Ki 22:49; Psa 48:8). All this must be destroyed and so must the arrogance of men be humbled, that Jehovah alone may be high in that day. So the prophet repeats, with some modification, the words of Isa 2:11, to prove that the specifications just given are only meant as the amplification of that general thought expressed in Isa 2:9. For these verses 1216, refer as much back to Isa 2:9 as do Isa 2:18 sqq., (especially Isa 2:18; Isa 2:21,) to Isa 2:10 a.
4. And the idolsthe earth.
Isa 2:17-21. The judgment against the sub-human creatures is followed by that against the superhuman, the idols. As verses 1316 refer back to Isa 2:7, so Isa 2:18 sqq., does to Isa 2:8.
But the judgment against the idols is most notably accomplished when the worshippers of idols, now visited by the despised, true God, in all His terrible reality, see themselves the nothingness of their idols and cast them away in contempt. Jehovah appears in the awful pomp of His majesty. If the gods were anything, then they would now appear and shield their followers. But, just because they are nothings; they cannot do it. We see from this that the enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust Isa 2:10, refers especially to the bringing to shame these illusory superhuman highnesses. In Rev 6:12 sqq., when at Isa 2:15 our passage is alluded to, the shaking of the earth appears as the effect of a great earthquake. Regarding the uses loquendi comp. Isa 8:12-13; Isa 29:23; Isa 47:12.
Therefore men shall cast their idols away to the gnawing beasts of the night, in their unclean holes, not that their flight may be easier, but because the idols belong there. May there not be an allusion in the words to the demon origin of the idols (1Co 10:20 sq.)? In the description of A little excursion into the Land of Moab, contained in the Magazine Sueddeutche Reichspost, 1872, No. 257 sqq., we read in No. 257 the following, in reference to the discovery of a large image of Astarte. The Bedouins dig in the numerous artificial and natural caves for saltpetre for making gunpowder. In this way they find these objects that in their time were buried or just thrown there, which, in the judgment of those that understand such matters, belonged all of them once in some way to heathen worship, and on which the prophecy of Isa 2:20 has been so literally fulfilled.Thus they cast their idols away, they entertain themselves no more with the care and worship of them, all trust in them is also gone. They only hasten to save themselves by flight into the caverns () see Exo 33:22 from , to bore,) and crevices of the rocks (comp. Isa 57:5). We are, moreover, reminded of the words in Luk 23:30. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains fall on us; and to the hills, cover us. For what wish can be left to those that have fled to the rocks, when the rocks themselves begin to shake, except to be covered as soon as possible from the tumbling mountains.
[Isa 2:20. Idols of silver and idols of gold. Here named as the most splendid and expensive, in order to make the act of throwing them away still more significant.
Moles and bats are put together on account of their defect of sight.J. A. A.]
Footnotes:
[13]For the Lord of hosts has a day on every thing proud, etc.
[14]Heb. pictures of desire.
[15]spectacles of desire.
[16]Or, shall utterly pass away.
[17]Heb. the dust.
[18]Heb. the idols of his silver, etc.
[19]Or, Which they made for him.
[20]fissures.
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts [shall be] upon every [one that is] proud and lofty, and upon every [one that is] lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
Ver. 12. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud. ] These he “knoweth afar off”; Psa 138:6 these he “resisteth” as it were in battle array; Jam 4:6 these he “casteth down to the ground.” Psa 147:6 One of the seven wise men of Greece said that God made it his business to humble the proud, and to lift up the lowly.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 2:12-22
12For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.
13And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the oaks of Bashan,
14Against all the lofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15Against every high tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16Against all the ships of Tarshish
And against all the beautiful craft.
17The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
18But the idols will completely vanish.
19Men will go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the ground
Before the terror of the LORD
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
20In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs
Before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
22Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For why should he be esteemed?
Isa 2:12-13 Notice the recurrent use of terms denoting arrogant, prideful humans and nations.
1. everyone who is proud (BDB 144), Isa 2:12.
2. and lofty (BDB 926, KB 1202, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE (note the same form in Isa 2:13-14), Isa 2:12
3. everyone who is lifted up (BDB 669, KB 724, Niphal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE (note the same form in Isa 2:13-14), Isa 2:12
4. all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Isa 2:13 (metaphor for humans and nations)
Isa 2:12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning This does not follow the Hebrew text. The MT has For the day of the LORD of hosts (cf. NKJV). The NASB translation is trying to link this back to Isa 1:18.
Isa 2:12-16 Note the repeated use of against (BDB 752).
1. against everyone who is proud and lofty, Isa 2:12
2. against all that is lifted up, Isa 2:12
3. against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Isa 2:13
4. against all the oaks of Bashan (who are also lofty and lifted up), Isa 2:13
5. against all the lofty mountains, Isa 2:14
6. against all the hills that are lifted up, Isa 2:14
7. against every high tower, Isa 2:15
8. against every fortified wall, Isa 2:15
9. against all the ships of Tarshish, Isa 2:16
10. against all beautiful craft, Isa 2:16 (this word craft [BDB 967] appears only here and its meaning is uncertain; it seems to be parallel to ships of Tarshish in Isa 2:16 a)
The Lord opposes the proud (cf. Isa 2:11; Isa 2:17).
Isa 2:13 Because of the allusion to idolatry with trees (Isa 1:29) and gardens (Isa 1:29-30) and that YHWH will burn them, one wonders if this mention of lofty trees reflects
1. the pride and arrogance of nations
2. the worship of idols connected with trees/wood
Because of the larger context (i.e., against series) the first option seems best. The problem of human pride is summarized in Isa 2:17 (which may be the theme of the entire book).
Isa 2:16 all the ships of Tarshish See note at Isa 23:1.
Isa 2:17 This is parallel in thought to Isa 2:11, which is the opposite of what evil leaders and wealthy socialites had done to the poor and humble in Isa 2:9. Many see this verse as a summary theme of the entire book!
Isa 2:18 Idolatry will cease completely (cf. Isa 21:9) because the worship of them is emptiness (cf. Isa 30:22; Isa 31:7; Isa 40:18-20; Isa 44:9-20; Isa 46:5-7)!
Isa 2:19 When He arises to make the earth tremble The first VERBAL arise (BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) can denote
1. appear on the scene, Exo 1:8; Deu 34:10; Jdg 5:7; 2Ki 23:25
2. arise for action (from His throne), Num 10:35; 2Ch 6:41; Job 31:14; Psa 76:9; Psa 132:8
The second VERBAL tremble (BDB 791, KB 888, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) describes physical creation as its creator approaches (cf. Isa 13:13; Isa 24:1; Isa 24:19-20; Psa 18:7; Psa 68:7-8; Hag 2:6). YHWH can come for blessing or judgment. In this context it is for judgment!
Isa 2:20-21 To clarify the first line of Isa 2:10, humans will try to hide from God
1. in caves in the rocks (cf. Isa 2:21)
2. in holes in the ground
They will try to get rid of their precious idols
1. cast away to moles (the meaning of the word is uncertain. LXX has vanities; REB has dung-beetles; JPSOA has flying foxes [a type of bat, therefore, parallel to the next line of poetry]. It seems to be related to the VERB to dig [BDB 343])
2. cast away to bats
These two verses have a series of INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS.
1. to the moles (lit. to dig), BDB 343, KB 340, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
2. to worship (lit, bow down), BDB 1005, KB 295, Hishtaphel INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
3. to go into, BDB 97, KB 112, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
4. arises, BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT, same form as Isa 2:19 (line 5)
5. tremble (lit. to frighten, BDB 791, KB 888, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT, same as Isa 2:19 (line 5)
In the IVP Bible Background Commentary a Sumerian Hymn of Enheduanna to the goddess Inanna from the third millennium depicts gods fluttering away like bats to their caves from the goddess’s terrible presence (p. 588). This means that it must remain a possibility that it is the idols themselves that were carried down by insects (beetles) or digging animals seeking refuge from the coming of YHWH because they could not move themselves.
Isa 2:22 YHWH commands respect for human life (cease, BDB 292, KB 292, Qal IMPERATIVE) because it is contingent of God’s gift of life (breath, ruah, see Special Topic: Breath, Wind, Spirit ). Mankind is transitory (cf. Psa 144:3-4). This is a truth that atheistic humanism needs to hear!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the day of the LORD. This is the first of twenty occurrences. In sixteen it is simply “y6m Jehovah” (Isa 13:6, Isa 13:9. Eze 13:5. Joe 1:15; Joe 2:1, Joe 2:11; Joe 2:3, Joe 2:14 (Heb 4:14). Amo 5:18, Amo 5:20. Oba 1:15. Zep 1:7, Zep 1:14, Zep 1:14. Mal 4:5). In four passages it is with Lamed (= L)
prefixed = for or to : viz. Isa 2:12. Eze 30:3. Zec 14:1; Zec 14:17 = a day known to Jehovah. In other places it is combined with other words, such as “wrath”, “vengeance”. In the N.T. it occurs four times: viz. 1Th 5:2. 2Th 2:2 (see note). 2Pe 3:10. Rev 1:10 (see note). Thus the expression is stamped with the number “four” (see App-10); for “the day of the LORD” is the day when everything done will be to abase man and exalt Jehovah. Now it is “man’s day” (1Co 4:3, see note), when man exalts himself, and bows God out of the world He has created.
the LORD of hosts. See note on 1Sa 1:3.
proud = arrogant. Hebrew. ga’ah. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia.
lofty = haughty. Hebrew (rum). Same word as “haughtiness” (verses: Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17), “high” (verses: Isa 2:13, Isa 2:14). Note the Figure of speech Synonymia.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton (App-6), emphasizing each of the details in verses: Isa 2:11-18,
lifted up = self-satisfied. Hebrew. nas’a. Same as verses: Isa 2:13, Isa 2:14.
brought low. Hebrew. shaphal. Same word as “humbled” (Isa 2:11). Note the Figure of speech Synonymia.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 2:12-22
Isa 2:12-22
“For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?”
Human pride will be destroyed in the final judgment; “Proud men will be humbled by the destruction of the things that minister to their pride.” The question of what, exactly, are those things to be destroyed is somewhat ambiguous. They are mentioned in pairs: Cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan; high mountains and hills that are lifted up; the high towers and fortified walls; and the ships of Tarshish and all pleasant imagery. Of course, the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan might stand for prominent and powerful men; but the other pairs resist such an explanation. Leupold thought that there is a mingling of literal and figurative language in this place; and this is probably correct. Certainly, there will be literal destruction of practically everything on “that day,” as indicated in Zephaniah, who stated that even the fishes in the sea shall be destroyed (Isa 1:3).
That the destruction to come upon the earth in the final judgment will have cosmic dimensions is everywhere apparent in God’s Word. Revelation speaks of every island and every mountain being moved out of its place (Rev 6:12-17). The author of Hebrews also indicated that the shaking of the earth (mentioned twice in this paragraph) would ultimately refer to its removal (Isa 19:16; Isa 24:23).
“Ships of Tarshish and all pleasant imagery …” It is hard to be sure just what is indicated by this. The word used here for “pleasant imagery” also means “pleasant pictures”; and Dummelow stated that a word closely akin to this one is used for “idolatrous imagery” in Num 33:52 and for “idolatrous images” painted on walls in Eze 8:12. It seems fairly certain, “that works of art of some kind are meant, very likely related to idolatry.
As Dummelow suggested, the fact of these pleasant images or pictures being mentioned so closely in connection with “ships of Tarshish” might be a reference to an ancient custom of embroidering sails with attractive designs.
The casting away of all idols to the “bats and to the moles” shows how worthless will be those things which cater to the pride, vanity, and idolatrous worship of evil men.
“Cease ye from man …” “This must be regarded as an appeal for Israel to give up their trust in man, from which trust had flowed all of their other errors. It will be remembered that the great apostasy of the Northern Israel was described as Ephraim’s taking the place of God; and this has always been a temptation for men to follow human leaders instead of the God of heaven and earth.
Isa 2:12-17 MAN, AND HIS PRIDE BROUGHT LOW: Isaiah announces the judgment of God upon a number of objects in which man had placed his confidence. The cedars of Lebanon-used in the Temple (1Ki 5:6); for masts of ships (Eze 27:5); as a symbol of beauty (Jer 22:6; Zec 11:1 ff); particularly admired by Jews (Cf. Psa 92:12; Psa 104:16; Eze 31:3). Because of mans sin, even the great and beautiful things of creation will suffer His judgment. Things created by mans hand-his buildings for wealth, show and fortification will never survive the judgment of God. One only has to read the notes of archaeologists to verify this statement. The greatest fortifications that the mind of man can devise and the hand of man can build can be destroyed by the least, most insignificant handiwork of God. God is able to direct and send the smallest insect to ruin and make helpless the most complex electronic defense instrument ever devised by man! God can shake the tallest and thickest wall or bridge or sky-scraper to rubble and dust through an earthquake. Objects which bring to man the necessities and luxuries of life-ships of commerce from Tarshish which was a critical lifeline of the nation of Judah would be cut off. Also the ships of pleasure which the rich people of Judah used for selfish pleasure would be destroyed. Isa 2:11; Isa 2:17, beginning and ending of specifying judgments, emphasize that Gods eye of judgment is upon the evil of man and not on things. Mans sin has perverted the object and the objects have become a cause of mans sin and so God will remove the cause.
Isa 2:18-21 IDOLATRY TO BE DESTROYED: When God begins to act in judgment, the impotence of their idols and their own stupidity in trusting in them will be so evident the people will cast them away in shame. Also, the people will be so intent upon escaping during these terrible times they will consider their idols only hindrances, encumbering their attempts to escape, and they will leave them behind for the heathen to carry off as booty. The destruction of idols is mentioned last because idolatry is the root sin that causes all the rest. Covetousness (the desire to have more) is called idolatry in the N.T. The captives destroyed forever the practice of idolatry among the Jews.
Isa 2:22 TRUST IN MAN TO BE DESTROYED: Trust in idolatry is, in a sense, trust in man himself, for the idols are the products of his ingenuity and creative powers. But any trust in any man for salvation of the soul, for redemption is to be stopped! Mans knowledge, limited by the finitude of his being, is not only unable to extricate him from his predicament, but when trusted in to the exclusion of God, buries man deeper and deeper in his own predicament-ignorance and immorality. Mans life is extremely transitory (Cf. Psa 146:3-4; Psa 118:8; Psa 104:29; Ecc 12:7; Psa 33:10; Jas 4:13-17, etc.). What can man do against the wrath of God? The answer is: Nothing! Man without God is lost!
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
an Exhortation to Humility and Reverence
Isa 2:12-22; Isa 3:1-12
If men will not repent, they must suffer. If they will not voluntarily put away their idols and sorceries, they will be compelled to do so in the anguish of their disappointment with their helpless deities, Isa 2:20. Nothing in that great civilization would be spared. High towers, fenced walls, ships, treasures, armor-all would perish. Their vaunted faith in man would cease. Life would become elemental in its simplicity amid the shelter of the ragged rocks. In sarcastic phrase the prophet depicts a despairing nation choosing for ruler the first man that came along with a decent coat on his back, Isa 2:6; but in vain. We can almost hear the sob of the prophets soul in Isa 2:8-9, and recall the tears of a greater than Isaiah, Who wept over this same Jerusalem eight hundred years afterward. Patriotism is one of the purest passions that can burn in the heart of man! Lives there a man, with soul so dead, that never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Day of the Lord (Day of Jehovah) vs.
Isa 2:10-22; Isa 4:1-6; Isa 11:10-13; Isa 13:9-16; Isa 24:21-23; Isa 26:20; Isa 26:21; Isa 63:1-6; Isa 66:15-24; Jer 25:29-33; Jer 46:10; Eze 30:3; Rev 19:11-21
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
the day: Isa 13:6, Isa 13:9, Jer 46:10, Eze 13:5, Amo 5:18, Mal 4:5, 1Co 5:5, 1Th 5:2
upon: Isa 23:9, Pro 6:16, Pro 6:17, Pro 16:5, Dan 4:37, Dan 5:20-24, Mat 23:12, Luk 14:11, Jam 4:6
Reciprocal: Exo 14:4 – I will be Lev 26:19 – will break Deu 17:20 – his heart 1Sa 2:7 – bringeth 1Ki 20:32 – Thy servant 2Ki 14:13 – took Amaziah Job 26:12 – he smiteth Job 40:11 – behold Psa 94:2 – render Psa 119:21 – rebuked Pro 15:25 – destroy Pro 16:18 – General Pro 29:23 – man’s Isa 24:4 – haughty people Isa 26:5 – bringeth Isa 27:9 – the groves Isa 40:4 – every mountain Isa 42:15 – General Jer 25:35 – the shepherds Jer 30:7 – for Jer 48:29 – his loftiness Eze 28:2 – Because Dan 5:23 – lifted Joe 2:1 – for the Mic 2:3 – go Mic 5:11 – and throw Mic 6:1 – before Nah 1:5 – mountains Hab 2:5 – a proud man Zep 1:7 – for the day Zep 1:16 – and against Zec 9:6 – General Zec 11:2 – Howl Zec 14:1 – General Mal 4:1 – and all the Act 2:20 – great 2Co 10:5 – and every 1Ti 3:6 – lest 2Pe 3:10 – the day Rev 8:7 – the third
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 2:12-16. For the day of the Lord The time of Gods taking vengeance on sinners; shall be upon every one that is proud To mortify and bring him down to the dust; and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, &c. In these and the following words, to Isa 2:17, the prophet is considered, by most commentators, as speaking metaphorically, according to the symbolical language of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. The cedars of Lebanon, and oaks of Bashan, are supposed to mean princes and nobles, who carried themselves high, and behaved themselves insolently; high mountains and hills, to signify states and cities; high towers and fenced walls, those who excelled in ingenuity, wisdom, and strength; and the ships of Tarshish, &c., (Isa 2:16,) the merchants who confided in their wealth and splendour. Thus Bishop Lowth: These verses afford us a striking example of that peculiar way of writing, which makes a principal characteristic of the parabolical, or poetical style of the Hebrews, and in which their prophets deal so largely: namely, their manner of exhibiting things divine, spiritual, moral, and political, by a set of images taken from things natural, artificial, religious, historical, in the way of metaphor or allegory. Thus, you will find in many other places, besides this before us, that cedars of Libanus and oaks of Bashan are used, in the way of metaphor and allegory, for kings, princes, potentates, of the highest rank; high mountains and lofty hills, for kingdoms, republics, states, cities; towers and fortresses, for defenders and protectors, whether by counsel or strength, in peace or war; ships of Tarshish, and works of art and invention employed in adorning them, for merchants, men enriched by commerce, and abounding in all the luxuries and elegancies of life, such as those of Tyre and Sidon; for it appears from the course of the whole passage, and from the train of ideas, that the fortresses and ships are to be taken metaphorically, as well as the high trees and lofty mountains. Some, however, it may be observed, incline to understand this whole passage literally, remarking, that the judgment was to be so universal and terrible, as not only to reach to men, but to things also, whether natural or artificial, in all which there would be manifest tokens of Gods displeasure against the land. Ships of Tarshish, adds Bishop Lowth, are in Scripture frequently used by a metonymy for ships in general, especially such as are employed in carrying on traffic between distant countries; as Tarshish was the most celebrated mart of those times, frequented of old by the Phenicians, and the principal source of wealth to Judea and the neighbouring countries. The learned seem now to be perfectly agreed that Tarshish is Tartessus, a city of Spain, (near Cadiz, now called Tariffa,) at the mouth of the river Btis, (now named Guadalquiver, running through Andalusia,) whence the Phenicians, who first opened this trade, brought silver and gold, (Jer 10:9; Eze 27:12,) in which that country then abounded; and, pursuing their voyage still further to the Cassiterides, the islands of Sicily and Cornwall, they brought from thence lead and tin.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Everyone, not just the Israelites, who exalts himself against the Lord will suffer humiliation. The Lord’s day of reckoning (Isa 2:12) is any day in which He humbles the haughty, but it is particularly the Tribulation-in which He will humble haughty unbelievers. Isaiah used nature and the works of man to symbolize people (cf. Isa 1:30; Isa 6:13; Isa 9:10; Isa 10:33 to Isa 11:1; Isa 44:14; Isa 60:16). Here several of these symbols represent the spiritual pride of Israel (cf. Rom 12:3; Eph 4:2).
"Throughout this section (Isa 2:6 to Isa 4:1) and many others in the Book of Isaiah, there is an interesting interplay between the judgment which the Lord will inflict on the nation by the Assyrian and Babylonian Captivities and the judgment which will come on Israel and the whole world in the ’last days’ just before the Millennium. Probably Isaiah and the other prophets had no idea of the lengthy time span that would intervene between those exiles and this later time of judgment. Though many of the predictions in Isa 2:10-21 happened when Assyria and Babylon attacked Israel and Judah, the passage looks ahead to a cataclysmic judgment on the whole world (’when He rises to shake the earth,’ Isa 2:19; Isa 2:21)." [Note: John A. Martin, "Isaiah," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament," p. 1039.]