Isaiah 2:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.

NIV: for every trading ship and every stately vessel.

NASB: Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the delightful ships.

CSB: against every ship of Tarshish, and against every splendid sea vessel.

NLT: He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel.

KJV: And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

NKJV: Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops.

In what do people trust to give them the advantage over all others? Isaiah has listed great trees and mountains, as well as towers and walls (Isaiah 2:13–18). Now he adds to the list the great ships and watercraft of Tarshish. Such vessels were hugely impressive to behold. Compared to other vessels of the day, they towered above the water, giving owners and nations wealth from trade with distant peoples. A nation with both a navy and trading ships was well-positioned on the world stage.

The Lord is not impressed. Isaiah insists that even these great ships will be brought low on the day of the Lord (Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 1:15; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). They will be no match for His power and glory. All who trust in ships, or wealth, or any material thing will be humbled by His might (Psalm 20:7; Proverbs 11:28; Luke 12:16–21).

Isaiah 2:6–22 begins with stunning words: the Lord has "rejected" His people Israel. Instead of trusting Him, they worship false idols and practice fortune-telling. They believe these things and their deal-making have brought them wealth and security. The day of the Lord, though, will result in the abandonment of their homemade idols. He will bring low every great thing they trust instead of the Lord. The people will try to escape the Lord's majesty in the darkness of caves as He terrifies the earth. Isaiah finishes this section with telling His people to stop esteeming human beings.

Isaiah describes Israel's far future as a time when all the nations of the earth will recognize Israel's God as the Lord. They will come to Jerusalem to learn from Him how to live. Isaiah tells his people to walk in the light of the Lord now. Instead, they worship false gods, follow fortune tellers, and make deals. Their great wealth, military might, and endless homemade idols will not save them from the God's judgment on day of the Lord. Human arrogance will be brought low as the Lord is exalted. Isaiah summarizes the chapter with a warning not to trust fallible people, instead of God.

Isaiah 2 follows the summation of the first chapter by reintroducing the prophet. He describes Israel's distant future. Someday, all the people of earth will come to Jerusalem to learn how to live from Israel's God. For now, though, the Lord has rejected His people. On the day of the Lord, however, those idols will be left behind in the caves in which the people attempt to hide from God's majesty. Later chapters of this book will explain more about how this prophecy will come to be.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).

Accessed 11/21/2024 11:28:39 AM