For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and arrogant, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
Parallel Translations
-
For there will be a day of Yahweh of Armies for all that is proud and arrogant, and for all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low:
-
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:
-
For the LORD of hosts hath a day upon all that is proud and lofty, and upon all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low;
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Isaiah 2:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Malachi 4:1 “For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up,” says Yahweh of Armies, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
- Isaiah 23:9 Yahweh of Armies has planned it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
- Proverbs 16:5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to Yahweh: they shall certainly not be unpunished.
- Luke 14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Job 40:11-12 Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for Yahweh’s day is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of Yahweh comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it.
- Isaiah 24:4 The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The lofty people of the earth languish.
- Isaiah 24:21 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will punish the army of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth.
- Jeremiah 46:10 For that day is of the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge himself of his adversaries. The sword will devour and be satiated, and will drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
- Ezekiel 13:5 You have not gone up into the gaps or built up the wall for the house of Israel, to stand in the battle in Yahweh’s day.
- Daniel 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
- Daniel 5:20-24 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the animals’, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky; until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. “You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed.
- Amos 5:18 “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light.
- Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Matthew 23:12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- 1 Corinthians 5:5 are to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
- James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Proverbs 6:16-17 There are six things which Yahweh hates; yes, seven which are an abomination to him: arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 2:12 For the day of the LORD of…
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; {Jas 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.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The day of the Lord; the time of God’s…
The day of the Lord; the time of God’s taking vengeance upon sinners, which is called God’s day, Isa 13:6,9; Eze 13:5; 30:3, and oft elsewhere.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain For the day of the Lord of hosts,.... Which…
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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The day - The time of God's taking vengeance…
The day - The time of God's taking vengeance upon sinners.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 2:12-16. For the day of the Lord —…
Isa 2:12-16. For the day of the Lord — The time of God’s 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 God’s 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 Bœtis, (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.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The day ... - This expression evidently denotes that…
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.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain a. The judgment against the things falsely eminent in…
a. The judgment against the things falsely eminent in the sub-human and superhuman spheres
Isa_2:12-21
Read full note →
12 13For 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 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan,
14 And upon all the high mountains,
And upon all the hills that are lifted up,
15 And upon every high tower,
And upon every fenced wall,
16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish,
And upon all 1415pleasant pictures.
17 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 And the idols 16he shall utterly abolish.
19 And 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.
20 In 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;
21 To 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. גֵאֶה in Isaiah only here. רָם is often found: Isa_2:13-14; Isa_6:1; Isa_10:33; Isa_57:15. On נִשָּׂא comp. above Isa_2:2.—ושפל is to be construed as future, since כי יום לי׳ must be regarded as a determination of time that points to the future.
Isa_2:16. שׂכיות is ἅπ. λεγ. It comes from שָׂכָה certainly, which, although unused itself, is kindred to שָׁעָה, to behold, is only now identified in the substantive מַשְׂכִּית. According to this etymology שְׂכִיָה must mean θέαμα, show piece, thus every work of art that is fitted to gratify the beholder’s eye.
Isa_2:18. I do not deny that אלילים is taken as ideal singular, and may accordingly be joined to the predicate in the singular. But then כָּלִיל 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 והאלילים as casus absolutus put before, and כָּלִיל as subject: et idola (quod attinet, eorum) universitas peribit.—The fundamental meaning of חָלַף 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, prœterire, perire” (Isa_8:8; Isa_21:1; Psa_102:27). The last is proper here.
Isa_2:19. מְעָרָה (in Isaiah again Isa_32:14) is the natural rock caves, מְחִלָּה (ἅπ. λεγ., comp. חַלּוֹן ,חָלִיל) is the cave hewn out by art Notice the paronomasia in לערץ הארץ.
Isa_2:20. The Prophet might have written here and Isa_30:22; Isa_31:7, אֱלִילָיו כֶּסֶף ו׳, 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 לוֹ after עָשׂוּ is taken in a reflexive sense, the enallage numeri would certainly be very strong. Therefore most expositors justly regard the artificers as subject of עַשׂוּ.—The words לחפר פרות, as they stand, can only present an infinitive with the prefix, and object following, for there is no noun חֲפֹר. But an infinitive does not suit here, and besides there is no noun פֵּרָה. 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 בְּקַח־קוֹחַ, Isa_61:1, and יְפֵה־פִיָה Jer_46:20 would separate what was to he united. We must then read לחפרפרות as one word. But how it is to be pointed is doubtful. According to the analogy of עֲקַלְקַלּוֹת ,יְרַקְרַקוֹת ,חֲלַקְלַקוֹת ,אְדַמְדַּמּוֹת, we might point it לַּחְפַּרְפָּרוֹת from a singular חֲפַרְפָּרָה. 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., חֹלֶד. But regarding the former, as Delitzsch, remarks, the mole does, true enough, burrow under buildings, and in regard to the latter consideration of Drechsler, חֹלֶד 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.—עֲטַלֵּף 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 day—brought 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 (כִּיfor, 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 יוםa day directly as a word signifying “court of justice,” for he lets עַל 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 all—in 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 מַלְאַךְ י׳angel of theLord of the Old Testament, is identical with the ἄγγελος κυρίου of the New Testament so is also the יוֹם י׳, day of the Lord identical with the ἡμέρα κυρίου (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 God’s 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 γῆ as it is called by Peter, as also afterwards the towers, ships of Tarshish, etc., are only representative of the ἔργα, 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 Ταρτησσὸς Tartessus of the Greeks; not a city, likely, but the country that lay at the mouth of the Bætis (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 12–16, 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 idols—the earth.
Isa_2:17-21. The judgment against the sub-human creatures is followed by that against the superhuman, the idols. As verses 13–16 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 אֱלִילִיםnothings; 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 (נְקָרָה) see Exo_33:22 from נָקַר, 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.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Man has had many days: "the day of the…
Man has had many days: "the day of the Lord" shall come at last, beginning with judgment, a never-ending day in which God shall be "all in all" (Co1 15:28; Pe2 3:10).
every--not merely person, as English Version explains it, but every thing on which the nation prided itself.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12-17. The lesson of these verses is, that Jehovah…
12-17. The lesson of these verses is, that Jehovah antagonizes among his chosen people every thing that compromises the holiness of his law.
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.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. For the day … proud …] Render, For…
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.
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).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) The day of the Lord of hosts shall…
(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 Isaiah’s 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).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The day of the Lord of hosts shall be…
Isa_2:12-17
The day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty
Read full note →
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 (παλλιγγενεσία) 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.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain Day of the Lord (Day of Jehovah) vs.
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
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah speaks to the people of Judah in the form of a poem. (See: Parallelism)
Read full note →
who is proud and raised up
One who is "raised up" is proud and considers himself better than other people. This can be stated in active form. AT: "who is proud and who raises himself above other people" or "who is proud and thinks that he is better than other people" (See: Active or Passive and Metaphor)
who is proud ... who is arrogant
Someone who is arrogant speaks and acts as if he is better than other people. These two phrases have similar meanings and are used together to emphasize that Yahweh will punish them. (See: Doublet)
he will be brought down
"every proud person will be brought down." This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh will humble him" (See: Active or Passive)
against all the cedars of Lebanon ... against all the oaks of Bashan
The "day of Yahweh of Hosts" will be against the cedars and oaks. Possible meanings are 1) these trees are a metaphor for the proud people whom God will judge or 2) God will actually destroy these mighty trees. (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
day of the Lord
Yahweh of hosts
proud
cedar
Lebanon
oak
Bashan
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.