Isaiah 2:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

NIV: The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

NASB: And the pride of humanity will be humbled And the arrogance of people will be brought low; And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day,

CSB: The pride of mankind will be brought low, and human loftiness will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

NLT: Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

Isaiah sums up and restates again the words of Isaiah 2:11. No matter how powerful and successful men might appear, the clock is ticking. The day of the Lord is coming for them (Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 1:15; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). If they have not humbled themselves, they will be humbled on that day. Whenever God chooses to do so, He will make Himself exalted above everything and every arrogance will be reduced to forced humility (Psalm 20:7; Proverbs 11:28; Luke 12:16–21).

Isaiah's warning is not only to those arrogant in their own strength, but to those who trust in other arrogant men and women, as well. On that day, the only hope for those in Israel will be to have been found faithful by the Lord.

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 11:55:43 AM