Isaiah 2:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, to the moles and to the bats,

NIV: In that day people will throw away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made to worship.

NASB: On that day people will throw away to the moles and the bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship,

CSB: On that day people will throw their worthless idols of silver and gold, which they made to worship, to the moles and the bats.

NLT: On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,

KJV: In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

NKJV: In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats,

Isaiah has been describing the terrible day of God's judgment on Israel (Isaiah 2:6–19). This will be a time when all who have trusted in idols to provide their wealth, safety, and salvation will be terrified at the coming of the Lord (Ezekiel 30:3; Obadiah 1:15; Acts 2:20; 2 Peter 3:10). His light and His power will expose the worthlessness of the idols they have made and worshipped.

Those whom God judges will finally accept that He alone is the source of true power. They will abandon their expensive idols made of silver and gold as meaningless hunks of metal (Psalm 115:4–8; Habakkuk 2:18–19). Hiding in their caves from the terror of God's wrath, in the form of invading foreign armies, they will leave their idols to unclean rodents, who will have no more use for them than they do.

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 5/5/2024 3:24:46 AM