The Mountain of the Lord
Study note
Isaiah begins with one of the most hopeful prophecies in the Bible. He describes a future time when the temple mount in Jerusalem will be the most important place on earth. People from every nation will come there to learn God's ways and live in peace. The famous phrase about beating swords into plowshares means that war will end and tools of destruction will be turned into tools for growing food. This vision of world peace is so beloved that it is inscribed on a wall near the United Nations building in New York City.
1 Here is what God showed Isaiah son of Amoz about Judah and Jerusalem. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days, the mountain where the Lord's temple sits will become the greatest mountain of all. It will rise above every hill. People from every nation will stream toward it. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 Many peoples will say to each other, "Come on, let us go up to the Lord's mountain, to the house of Jacob's God. He will show us how he wants us to live, and we will follow his paths." For God's teaching will go out from Zion, and the Lord's word will go out from Jerusalem. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He will settle arguments between nations and work out disagreements for many peoples. They will pound their swords into farming plows and their spears into tools for trimming plants. No nation will attack another nation, and they will never practice war again. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 People of Jacob, come! Let us walk in the Lord's light! O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
The Day of the Lord Against the Proud
Study note
The tone shifts dramatically as Isaiah describes why judgment is coming. The people have filled their land with foreign superstitions, silver, gold, horses, chariots, and idols. On the 'day of the Lord,' a phrase used throughout the prophets for a time of divine judgment, God will bring down everything that is high and proud. The tall cedars of Lebanon, the mighty oaks, high mountains, strong towers, and great trading ships will all be humbled. People will hide in caves and throw their idols to the bats and moles. The chapter ends by warning people not to trust in human power, which is as fragile as the breath in our nostrils.
6 Lord, you have given up on your people, the family of Jacob. They have filled their heads with ideas from the east, they practice fortune-telling like the Philistines, and they make agreements with foreigners. Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
7 Their country overflows with silver and gold, and their treasures never run out. Their land is packed with horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8 But their country is also packed with idols. They get down on their knees and worship things their own hands have shaped, objects their own fingers have carved. Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9 So people are brought low, and everyone is shamed. Do not let them off the hook! And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
10 Run and hide among the rocks! Bury yourself in the ground to get away from the Lord's awesome power and the brightness of his majesty! Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
11 People who carry themselves with pride will be knocked down. Human arrogance will be crushed. When that day comes, only the Lord will be lifted up. 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.
12 The Lord who commands heaven's armies has set a day of judgment for every proud and arrogant person, for everyone who thinks they are so important. They will all be knocked down. 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:
13 He will judge the tall cedar trees of Lebanon and the mighty oaks of Bashan. And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14 He will judge every towering mountain and every high hill. And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15 He will judge every tall tower and every strong wall built for protection. And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
16 He will judge every great trading ship and every fine sailing boat. And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
17 Human pride will be crushed, and human arrogance will be humbled. When that day comes, only the Lord will be lifted up. And 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.
18 Every idol will be gone for good. And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
19 People will crawl into caves and holes in the ground. They will hide from the Lord's great power. They will flee his bright glory when he rises to shake the earth. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 When that day comes, people will grab their silver and gold idols. They will throw away the idols they had made to worship. They will toss them to the bats and moles. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 They will squeeze into cracks in the rocks and gaps in the cliffs. They will hide from the Lord's great power. They will flee his bright glory when he rises to shake the earth. To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
22 Stop depending on human beings, who are here one moment and gone the next. What are they truly worth? Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?