What does Isaiah 2:5 mean?
ESV: O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
NIV: Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
NASB: Come, house of Jacob, and let’s walk in the light of the Lord.
CSB: House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the Lord’s light.
NLT: Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
KJV: O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
NKJV: O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.
Verse Commentary:
Isaiah has painted a picture of an era in the far future. Then, all nations of the earth will worship the God of Jacob in Jerusalem. In fact, God Himself will reign over the world from Jerusalem in the form of the Messiah (Isaiah 11:1–10). War will cease to exist, and the world will live in absolute peace.
Because that is Israel's future, Isaiah calls for the Israelites of his day to walk in the light of the Lord now. He tells them not to wait for the Lord to rule over the earth, but to live by the Lord's rule over them in the present moment. His peace can rule over their nation in their time if they repent and submit to Him in faithfulness.
Verse Context:
Isaiah 2:1–5 describes an impossible-seeming time in Israel's future: when the Lord will reign over the entire earth from Jerusalem. People from all the Gentile nations will flock to Israel and to Jerusalem to learn from the Lord how to walk in His ways. He will judge the nations, resolving all disputes, and bringing about a time so secure that no nation will even prepare for war anymore. Isaiah urges the Israelites of his day to not wait and to walk in the Lord's light now.
Chapter Summary:
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.
Chapter Context:
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.
Book Summary:
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).
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