Isaiah 2:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So man is humbled, and each one is brought low— do not forgive them!

NIV: So people will be brought low and everyone humbled-- do not forgive them.

NASB: So the common person has been humbled And the person of importance has been brought low, But do not forgive them.

CSB: So humanity is brought low, and each person is humbled. Do not forgive them!

NLT: So now they will be humbled, and all will be brought low — do not forgive them.

KJV: And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

NKJV: People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them.

God has stepped aside in His blessing and protection of Israel. This is a response to their own sins (Isaiah 2:6–8). Isaiah's list focuses especially on Israel's worship of foreign gods. They are also participating in pagan fortune-telling (Isaiah 2:6). The nation was very wealthy in the time of Isaiah's observation. The people may not yet realize it, but their destruction approaches because of their arrogant, foolish, sinful behavior.

Looking at the state of Israel in his generation, Isaiah says a shocking thing to the Lord: "Do not forgive them!" Isaiah feels the weight of Israel's sin and does not want it to go unpunished. He does not want his people to thrive amidst their rebellion against the Lord.

It's important to note that Isaiah's righteous indignation at the sin of his people is not the deciding factor in whether God will forgive or not. The Lord alone makes those decisions about forgiveness, judgment, and mercy based on His own justice and goodness. The Lord's inspiration of Scripture still allows for the writer's personality and feelings to be recorded (Psalm 10:1; 44:23).

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).