Isaiah 5:15

5:15 Men will be humiliated,

they will be brought low;

the proud will be brought low. ¹ 

Isaiah 2:9

2:9 Men bow down to them in homage,

they lie flat on the ground in worship. ² 

Don’t spare them! ³ 

Isaiah 32:19

32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed ⁴ 

and the city is annihilated, ⁵ 

Isaiah 2:11-12

2:11 Proud men will be brought low,

arrogant men will be humiliated; ⁶ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ⁷ 

in that day.

2:12 Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, ⁸ 

for ⁹  all the high and mighty,

for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;

Isaiah 2:17

2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,

arrogant men will be brought low; ¹⁰ 

the Lord alone will be exalted ¹¹ 

in that day.

Isaiah 10:33

10:33 Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies,

is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. ¹² 

The tallest trees ¹³  will be cut down,

the loftiest ones will be brought low.

Isaiah 13:11

13:11 ¹⁴ I will punish the world for its evil, ¹⁵ 

and wicked people for their sin.

I will put an end to the pride of the insolent,

I will bring down the arrogance of tyrants. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 31:4

The Lord Will Defend Zion

31:4 Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me:

“The Lord will be like a growling lion,

like a young lion growling over its prey. ¹⁷ 

Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it,

it is not afraid of their shouts

or intimidated by their yelling. ¹⁸ 

In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend

to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill. ¹⁹ 

[5:15]  ¹ tn Heb “men are brought down, men are brought low, the eyes of pride are brought low.”

[2:9]  ² 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]  ³ 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.”

[32:19]  ³ tn Heb “and [?] when the forest descends.” The form וּבָרַד (uvarad) is often understood as an otherwise unattested denominative verb meaning “to hail” (HALOT 154 s.v. I ברד). In this case one might translate, “and it hails when the forest is destroyed” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV). Perhaps the text alludes to a powerful wind and hail storm that knocks down limbs and trees. Some prefer to emend the form to וְיָרַד (vÿyarad), “and it descends,” which provides better, though not perfect, symmetry with the parallel line (cf. NAB). Perhaps וּבָרַד should be dismissed as dittographic. In this case the statement (“when the forest descends”) lacks a finite verb and seems incomplete, but perhaps it is subordinate to v. 20.

[32:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”

[2:11]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “elevated”; CEV “honored.”

[2:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts] has a day.”

[2:12]  ⁶ tn Or “against” (NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[2:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, 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.

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”

[10:33]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads “with terrifying power,” or “with a crash.” מַעֲרָצָה (ma’aratsah, “terrifying power” or “crash”) occurs only here. Several have suggested an emendation to מַעֲצָד (ma’atsad, “ax”) parallel to “ax” in v. 34; see HALOT 615 s.v. מַעֲצָד and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:448.

[10:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “the exalted of the height.” This could refer to the highest branches (cf. TEV) or the tallest trees (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[13:11]  ⁸ sn The Lord is definitely speaking (again?) at this point. See the note at v. 4.

[13:11]  ⁹ tn Or “I will bring disaster on the world.” Hebrew רָעָה (ra’ah) could refer to the judgment (i.e., disaster, calamity) or to the evil that prompts it. The structure of the parallel line favors the latter interpretation.

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; cf. NASB, NIV “the ruthless.”

[31:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “As a lion growls, a young lion over its prey.” In the Hebrew text the opening comparison is completed later in the verse (“so the Lord will come down…”), after a parenthesis describing how fearless the lion is. The present translation divides the verse into three sentences for English stylistic reasons.

[31:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Though there is summoned against it fullness of shepherds, by their voice it is not terrified, and to their noise it does not respond.”

[31:4]  ¹¹ tn Some prefer to translate the phrase לִצְבֹּא עַל (litsbo’ ’al) as “fight against,” but the following context pictures the Lord defending, not attacking, Zion.