Isaiah 2:9-16

2:9 Men bow down to them in homage,

they lie flat on the ground in worship. ¹ 

Don’t spare them! ² 

2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,

hide in the ground.

Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord, ³ 

from his royal splendor!

2:11 Proud men will be brought low,

arrogant men will be humiliated; ⁴ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ⁵ 

in that day.

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ⁶ 

for ⁷  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,

that are so high and mighty,

for all the oaks of Bashan; ⁸ 

2:14 for all the tall mountains,

for all the high hills, ⁹ 

2:15 for every high tower,

for every fortified wall,

2:16 for all the large ships, ¹⁰ 

for all the impressive ¹¹  ships. ¹² 

[2:9]  ¹ tn Heb “men bow down, men are low.” Since the verbs שָׁחָח (shakhakh) and שָׁפַל (shafal) are used later in this discourse to describe how God will humiliate proud men (see vv. 11, 17), some understand v. 9a as a prediction of judgment, “men will be brought down, men will be humiliated.” However, these prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive appear to carry on the description that precedes and are better taken with the accusation. They draw attention to the fact that human beings actually bow down and worship before the lifeless products of their own hands.

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “don’t lift them up.” The idiom “lift up” (נָשָׂא with לְ, nasa’ with preposition lamed) can mean “spare, forgive” (see Gen 18:24, 26). Here the idiom plays on the preceding verbs. The idolaters are bowed low as they worship their false gods; the prophet asks God not to “lift them up.”

[2:10]  ³ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “get away” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the eyes of the pride of men will be brought low, and the arrogance of men will be brought down.” The repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:13]  ⁹ sn The cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan were well-known for their size and prominence. They make apt symbols here for powerful men who think of themselves as prominent and secure.

[2:14]  ¹¹ sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.

[2:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[2:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

[2:16]  ¹⁵ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.