Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 2:11
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
11. in that day ] The day to be now described in
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The lofty looks – Hebrew The eyes of pride, that is, the proud eyes or looks. Pride commonly evinces itself in a lofty carriage and supercilious aspect; Psa 18:27.
Shall be humbled – By the calamities that shall sweep over the land. This does not mean that he shall be brought to be humble, or to have a humble heart, but that that on which he so much prided himself would be taken away.
The Lord alone … – God will so deal with them as to vindicate his honor; to turn the attention entirely on himself, and to secure the reverence of all the people. So terrible shall be his judgments, and so manifestly shall they come from him, that they shall look away from everything else to him alone.
In that day – In the day of which the prophet speaks, when God would punish them for their sins, Reference is probably made to the captivity at Babylon. It may be remarked, that one design of punishment is to lead people to regard and honor God. He will humble the pride of people, and so pass before them in his judgments, that they shall be compelled to acknowledge him as their just Sovereign and Judge.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 2:11
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled . . . the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day
Man humbled and Christ exalted
The day may be very properly applied to any of those days when the Lord abases the pride of guilty man, or when He makes His presence felt by the power of His Spirit upon the heart; for it is then the lofty looks of man are humbled; it is then the haughtiness of man is bowed down, and the Lord is exalted in the heart.
What other than this is Gods object in the Gospel? It is definitely that self may be humbled, and Christ exalted.
I. Let us look at some points on which MEN ARE APT TO BE LIFTED UP and to bolster themselves up in their pride and self-sufficiency.
1. They hold that they have natural ability to understand the Word of God. What saith the Scripture upon this point? (1Co 2:11, etc.) How many take up the Word of God to read it just as they would any other book, forgetting its character–forgetting its object! They read it merely to know, not in order to be. Whereas the value of the Book is, that it is to tell upon mans character. It is to make him altogether a new creature in Christ Jesus.
2. Another point of deep importance is the opinion which men have with respect to their power to save themselves. It is not that they think that they can actually blot out their sins, or that they can perfectly keep Gods law; but they, in imagination, strike a kind of balance between their good and bad deeds. They think that there is something good in what they do, and that what they fail in Christ will make up; and the consequence is, there is no real humiliation before God while this idea lasts.
3. The foolish thoughts men have of the character of God, as if He were such an one as themselves. You will often hear men speak of what they conceive the justice of God to be, without attending in the smallest degree to the declarations which He makes of Himself in His Holy Word. They speak as though they thought the difference between themselves and God, who is holy, is one of degree merely, and not of nature. They put on one side altogether the fact that God is a Spirit, and that they themselves are carnal, and they speak as if morality would fit a man for heaven, utterly ignoring the words of the Lord, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Men, indeed, form their own opinions; but remember the way in which God speaks of it: Thou thoughtest that I was such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee.
II. Now, all these mistaken views are so many sources of pride in men; but when the Holy Spirit comes into the heart in power, they ARE BOWED DOWN AND HUMBLED BEFORE GOD. One of the effects produced by the Holy Spirit, when He comes upon a mans heart, is to make him consider his ways. He looks to himself and sees nothing but sin; that there is not one single ground of hope; and when the Holy Spirit has graciously brought him to this point, then He shows him the salvation of Christ. And then in this exaltation of the Lord Jesus comes the true abasement of the man himself. Lessons–
1. The object of all Gods dispensations is to humble us, and to bring us down to the feet of Christ.
2. The nature of true faith. It is humility; it is dependence; it is coming down from all self-confidence; it is resting upon another, and that Christ alone. (J. W. Reeve, M. A.)
God exalted
1. By entertaining elevating apprehensions of His infinite majesty, and exercising suitable affections towards Him–fearing Him who pours contempt upon princes, trusting in Him in whom is everlasting strength, and loving Him in whose favour there is life.
2. By celebrating the praises of His Divine excellencies with gratitude and joy.
3. By such conduct as may give the most sensible and lively representation of God–beginning, carrying on, and ending all their businesses in Him; making His love the principle, His law the rule, and His glory the end of all their actions. (R. Macculloch.)
Humility
Life is a long lesson in humility. (J. M. Barrie.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. Be humbled] ” shaphel veshach, read shaphelu shach.” – Dr. Durell. Which rectifies the grammatical construction. No MS. or version confirms this reading.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall be bowed down judicially, as they bowed down voluntarily before their idols. So the punishment is very suitable to the sin.
Shall be exalted in that day; his justice and power shall be magnified, and the vanity and impotency of all other gods shall be detected.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
11. lofty looksliterally,”eyes of pride” (Ps18:27).
humbledby calamities.God will so vindicate His honor “in that day” of judgments,that none else “shall be exalted” (Zec14:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,…. Particularly of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, assuming that to himself which belongs to God; looking down with contempt upon, and behaving haughtily and insolently to all below him; blaspheming the name of God, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven; he shall be humbled, consumed, and destroyed with the breath of Christ’s mouth, and the brightness of his coming, 2Th 2:4
and the haughtiness of man shall be bowed down; of the followers of antichrist, who have boasted of their wisdom and knowledge, of their number, power, greatness, and authority, of their wealth and riches, and of their merits and works of supererogation; their pride will now be stained, and all their glory laid in the dust:
and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day: in his divine Person, and in all his offices, and especially in his kingly office; he shall be King over all the earth, the kingdoms of this world will become his, he shall be the one Lord, and his name one, Zec 14:9 this will be in the spiritual reign of Christ, in the latter day, or last day of the Gospel dispensation, when the church will be exalted, as in Isa 2:2 and in the personal reign of Christ it will still more appear, that he, and he alone, will be exalted by and among his people, among whom his tabernacle will be, for then he will have no rivals; not only all rule, power, and authority among men, will be put down, and the beast and false prophet will have been cast alive into the lake of fire; but Satan, the god of this world, will be taken and bound, and cast into the bottomless pit, and so remain during the time of Christ’s thousand years’ reign with his saints on earth: this passage is referred by the Jews u to the end of the six thousand years the world according to them shall stand.
u T. Bab. Roshhashana, fol. 31. 1. & Sanhedrin, fol. 92. 2. & 97. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11 The loftiness of the looks of man (44) shall be humbled Wicked men, relying on the wealth and quietness and prosperity which they at present enjoy, regard the threatenings of the Prophets with haughty disdain, and thus harden their hearts against God, and are even led to indulge in wantonness. 0n this account, Isaiah here determines, as we have already said, to repress their arrogance; as if he had said, “The time will come when this pride of yours, by which you vainly and madly contend against God, shall be brought down.” For wicked men, though they pretend to have some religion, are yet so daring that they raze against God himself, and imagine that they are higher than God. On the other hand, by thundering against them, he lays low their haughtiness, that he alone may be exalted.
And this is what we have already said, that when crimes are allowed to pass unpunished, it is a sort of cloud held before our eyes, which hinders us from beholding the glory of the Lord; but when he takes vengeance on men’s transgressions, his glory shines forth illustriously. This is also the reason which Solomon assigns why wicked men are hardened against God: it is because they think that bad and good men are equally happy in this world.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil, (Ecc 8:11😉
for all of them grow more insolent, and are more and more blinded.
But here he shows that, when proud men shall have been brought to their proper level, there will be nothing to prevent God from being acknowledged to be what he is. It was indeed highly becoming that the people should, of their own accord, humbly behold the greatness of God, under whose shadow they were defended; and for this purpose the posterity of Abraham was so remarkably distinguished by numerous blessings, that it might be the mirror of the glory and holiness of God. Isaiah now threatens that, because the Jews have risen up against him, God will employ a new method of exalting his glory, that is, by their destruction. When he speaks of lofty looks and loftiness, he employs an outward gesture to denote the inward pride of the mind; for sinful confidence almost always betrays, by the very looks, a contempt of God and of men. In the same sense does David describe the man whose eyes are lofty. (Psa 101:5.)
(44) The lofty looks of man. — Eng. Ver.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(11) The lofty looks of man . . .Better, the lofty looks of the mean man . . . the haughtiness of the great man. The self-assertion which is the essential element of pride may be found at the opposite extremes of social life.
The Lord alone shall be exalted . . .The verb, as in Psa. 46:7; Psa. 46:11 (see margin and text of Authorised Version), implies the image of a rock-citadel, towering in its strength, and offering the one safe asylum in a time of danger. (Comp. also Psa. 61:2.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. The terror which was approaching, Isa 2:10, is now seen as past. In Hebrew poetry scenes suddenly shift; a spirit of restlessness and non-repose characterizes it; it darts from object to object with lightning rapidity; it is alert with antitheses, and is never to be judged by rules governing the ancient Greek and modern dramatic poetry. The preceding verse sees judgment approaching; this verse describes the effect of it when passed. The haughty airs of men shall be humbled in the Hebrew, are “humbled” are brought low. Past, present, and future run into each other to express permanent effect.
In that day In that sweep of time during which the principles of divine retribution have their full manifestation. No doubt the full result is seen in the overthrow of the State and the captivity at Babylon. It is idle to seek, with laborious literalness, fulfilments of predictions so generally expressed.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A Description of Man’s Pride Isa 2:11-17 gives a lengthy description of man’s pride in his rebellion against God. The passage gives us a list of things that are tall and stately in this world: the trees of the field, and the mountains and the hills, the high towers and fortified walls, and the tall, stately ships of the sea.
If we were to give this prophecy today, we would refer to tall buildings instead of high towers and fortified walls. For example, when the two tall buildings in New York fell on September 11, 2001, the nation began discussions of how to restore this part of the city. They decided to rebuild these buildings even taller as a sign of America’s national pride, rather than call the nation to repentance. However, this was an expression of human pride rather than humility and repentance towards God; since it was America’s sins that opened the door to such a tragedy.
Isa 2:16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
Isa 2:16
Word Study on “pictures” Gesenius says the Hebrew word “pictures” “sek-ee-yaw’” ( ) (H7914) means, “image, form, appearance.” Strong says it means, “a conspicuous object, picture.” This word is used once in the Old Testament, being translated “pictures.” Strong says it is similar to ( ) (H7906), which means, “an observatory,” and both of these words come from an unused root word that means, “to surmount.” Gesenius says the word ( ) can refer to the “flag of a ship,” or “a standard.” However, he refers to the Vulgate and suggests that the phrase “and all pleasant images” serves to sum up everything listed in Isa 2:13-16.
Comments – The KJV gives its literal translation. However, it can also refer to a ship because of the context of the preceding phrase, “and upon all the ships of Tarshish.”
ASV “and upon all pleasant imagery (or watch-towers)”
LXX “and upon every display of fine ships”
NIV “and every stately vessel”
RSV “and against all the beautiful craft”
YLT “And for all desirable pictures”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Isa 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
Ver. 11. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled. ] Ipsi antea tumidi et cervicosi Deum ultorem agnoscent. God shall bring down the haughty from their lofty tops where they have perched themselves, and shall take them a link lower, as they say; pride must have a fall, and no wonder; for whereas other sins flee from God, pride lets fly at him, and hence it is he is so utter an enemy to it.
And the Lord alone shall be exalted.
In that day.
a De Consen. Evang., lib. i. cap. 18.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lofty = proud. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia to impress us with the far-reaching object and effect of Jehovah’s dealings in “the day of the LORD”, recorded in verses: Isa 2:11-17. Hebrew. gabah. Same word as “high” (Isa 2:15), and “loftiness” (Isa 2:17). Not the same word as “lofty” (Isa 2:12).
humbled = -lowered. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia, in Isa 2:11 and Isa 2:17. Hebrew. shaphal. Same word as “brought low” (Isa 2:12), “made low” (Isa 2:17). Hebrew = each shall be, &c.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton (App-6).
haughtiness. Hebrew. rum. Same word as “lofty” (Isa 2:12), “high” (verses: Isa 2:13, Isa 2:14).
men. Hebrew, plural of ‘enosh. App-14.
bowed down = brought low. Hebrew. sliahah. Same word as in Isa 2:17.
exalted. Hebrew. sagab. Same word as in Isa 2:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
lofty: Isa 2:17, Isa 5:15, Isa 5:16, Isa 13:11, Isa 24:21, Job 40:10-12, Psa 18:27, Jer 50:31, Jer 50:32, Mal 4:1, Luk 18:14, 1Pe 5:5
and the Lord: Isa 5:16, Isa 12:4, Jer 9:24, 1Co 1:29-31, 2Co 10:17
in that day: Isa 4:1, Isa 11:10, Isa 11:11, Isa 12:1, Isa 12:4, Isa 24:21, Isa 25:9, Isa 26:1, Isa 27:1, Isa 27:2, Isa 27:12, Isa 27:13, Isa 28:5, Isa 29:18, Isa 30:23, Isa 52:6, Jer 30:7, Jer 30:8, Eze 38:14, Eze 38:19, Eze 39:11, Eze 39:22, Hos 2:16, Hos 2:18, Hos 2:21, Joe 3:18, Amo 9:11, Oba 1:8, Mic 4:6, Mic 5:10, Mic 7:11, Mic 7:12, Zep 3:11, Zep 3:16, Zec 9:16
Reciprocal: Exo 10:3 – humble Exo 14:4 – I will be Jdg 7:2 – Israel 2Sa 22:28 – but thine 1Ki 20:32 – Thy servant 2Ki 14:13 – took Amaziah 1Ch 29:11 – exalted Job 33:17 – hide Job 40:11 – behold Psa 10:4 – the pride Psa 46:10 – I will be Psa 57:5 – Be thou Psa 94:2 – render Psa 101:5 – an high Psa 119:21 – rebuked Psa 138:6 – but the proud Pro 6:17 – A proud look Pro 16:18 – General Pro 21:4 – An high look Pro 29:23 – man’s Pro 30:13 – General Isa 10:12 – the glory Isa 10:33 – and the haughty Isa 16:6 – have Isa 19:18 – that day Isa 23:9 – to stain Isa 24:4 – haughty people Isa 25:11 – he shall bring Isa 29:4 – thou shalt Isa 33:5 – The Lord Jer 48:29 – his loftiness Mic 2:3 – go Hab 2:5 – a proud man Zec 12:7 – save Mat 7:22 – to me Luk 3:5 – valley Luk 4:8 – only Luk 14:11 – whosoever Rom 11:20 – Be 1Co 1:28 – to bring 2Co 10:5 – and every Jam 4:6 – God 1Pe 5:6 – Humble
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be abased, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in {s} that day.
(s) Meaning, as soon as God will begin to execute his judgments.