A thoughtful guide for your walk of faith Read with context, practice with grace.
Bless.You
Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 2

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Isaiah overview
Old Testament

Isaiah 2

1This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.

3Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s 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 the law shall go out of Zion, and the LORD’s word from Jerusalem.

4He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

5House of Jacob, come, and let’s walk in the light of the LORD.

6For you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled from the east, with those who practice divination like the Philistines, and they clasp hands with the children of foreigners.

7Their land is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures. Their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots.

8Their land also is full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.

9Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don’t forgive them.

10Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty.

11The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

12For there will be a day of the LORD of Armies for all that is proud and arrogant, and for all that is lifted up, and it shall be brought low—

13for all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, for all the oaks of Bashan,

14for all the high mountains, for all the hills that are lifted up,

15for every lofty tower, for every fortified wall,

16for all the ships of Tarshish, and for all pleasant imagery.

17The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

18The idols shall utterly pass away.

19Men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.

20In that day, men shall cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which have been made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,

21to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of the LORD, and from the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily.

22Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 2 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 2

Isaiah 2 contains 22 verses and about 541 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 22 closes: “Stop trusting in man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for of what account is he?” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, house, idols, brought, jacob, neither. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 2

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 2:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer →