Chapter Two

1–3. The exaltation of the mountain of the Lord. 4–5. Change in the pagan world. 6–8. The vices of contemporary Judaism. 9–16. God’s judgment on the Jews. 17–22. The destruction of idols and idolaters.

Isaiah 2:1. The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw in a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In the last days happy times will come for Jerusalem. The mountain of Zion, the dwelling place of the true God, will be exalted above the whole world and all peoples will make pilgrimages here to find guidance on how to live. The first result of the spreading of the true teaching throughout the world will be the cessation of wars, and even military weapons will be refashioned into tools useful for agriculture. This speech, continuing to chapter 3, was probably spoken by the prophet Isaiah during the reign of Jotham. The basis for such a conjecture can be found in the following circumstances mentioned in this speech: a) The Judean kingdom possessed great riches (Isa 2:7), so that the Jews lacked nothing in gold or silver; b) it was conducting extensive sea trade (Isa 2:16); c) great buildings were being erected (Isa 2:15); d) there existed a large army (Isa 2:7). All this could only take place during the reign of Jotham (or in the last years of Uzziah), when the Jews again enjoyed nearly the same prosperity that they enjoyed in the days of David and Solomon (see 2 Chr 26 and following). After Jotham, the situation in the Judean state changed dramatically for the worse.

Isaiah 2:2. And in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all peoples shall flow to it. In the last days, more accurately from Hebrew, at the end of times. Since all the history of the Hebrew people, according to the teaching of the prophets, led to the Messiah and His kingdom, the last days or end of times for Isaiah, as for other prophets (cf. Dan 10:14), is called the era of the Messiah, without distinguishing the moments included in it. “The mountain of the house of the Lord” – the mountain on which stood the house or, more correctly, the temple of the Lord. This is precisely Mount Moriah. But undoubtedly this mountain is a mysterious image of the Church of Christ, because only such a “mountain,” completely free from absolute and not always rational limitations of the law of Moses, could attract the sympathy of all humanity, which could not reconcile itself with many of the ordinances of the Jewish ritual law. The Church of Christ is the true refuge for all people and nothing on earth can compare with it in its beneficial influence on the life of humanity, which the prophet clearly indicates by saying that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be placed above all other mountains and hills, that is, above all human institutions directed toward good order.

Isaiah 2:3. And many nations will go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways and we will walk in His paths; for from Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Now peoples walk in their own ways (Acts 14:16), live according to their own desires, but at that time they will feel a desire to walk in the ways that the true God will point to them, that is, to conduct themselves according to the laws of God. Direction in this new life will be given by the law that will go forth from Zion, that is, the evangelical teaching, which indeed began to spread from Jerusalem (Acts 1:8; Rom 15:16) to other cities and countries of the world. The blessed Theodoret sees in this a direct prophecy of the conversion of the pagan world to Christianity.

Isaiah 2:4. And He will judge between the nations and will decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift sword against nation, and they shall learn war no more. “And He will judge.” In ancient times judging was a prerogative of royal power (1 Sam 8:6). Consequently, the Lord will be recognized as king of all peoples and His authority will be acknowledged everywhere. “And He will decide for many peoples.” God as King of all peoples will point out to them the incorrectness of their way of life; however, not all peoples will be subjected to the same reproach and certainly accompanied by punishment. “One must,” says the blessed Jerome, “make a distinction between peoples; not all unbelievers will be condemned with the same sentence, but according to the difference of their merits they will suffer different things.” “They shall beat their swords.” In these last days, thanks to the spread of true teaching throughout the world, the disputes and wars that oppressed the life of ancient humanity will end. In antiquity, egotism of individuals and state egotism were extremely strong, which prompted one state to expand its possessions at the expense of another. Meanwhile, the new law of the Almighty changes the very essence of human souls, so that people as a result become inclined even to self-sacrifice. It is clear that with such a renewal of humanity there will be no need for the former means of self-defense and attack and swords will be refashioned into plowshares or more precisely mattocks used for loosening the soil when planting grapevines, and spears will become pruning hooks used for cutting these vines. The prophet speaks here about the last times of the world, but his prophecy has already in part been fulfilled and continues to be fulfilled in the attempts that have been made and continue to be undertaken by the best representatives of Christian humanity, who have proposed and continue to propose various peaceful means for settling international disputes (arbitration, etc.). Regarding wars, which Christian states are sometimes compelled to wage, Christians have established the view that these wars represent a sad necessity given the present still far from perfect moral condition of humanity.

Isaiah 2:5. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. In view of such a conversion of all peoples to the light of true religion, the prophet calls also the house of Jacob, that is, the Jews descended from Jacob, to walk in the light of the Lord, that is, to live as the law of the Almighty teaches. Isa 2:6-22. Unfortunately, the Jews appear to the prophet incapable of fulfilling his sincere desire. They have turned aside into the darkness of paganism and all vices. Divination and the worship of idols have become firmly rooted in Judea. But for this, Judea-Israel must first experience the weight of God’s judgment before the pagans. The prophet in vivid colors depicts the humiliation of the Jews, who had prided themselves on their external successes, and the humiliation of those idols, in whose power they had placed their hopes.

Isaiah 2:6. But You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, for they are filled with practices from the East, and with soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with foreigners. The prophet announces to the Jews that the Almighty has already rejected them because of their attraction to foreign customs. They have adopted much from the East (mikkedem) or, as seems more correct, from divinations, from sorcery (mikedam according to Hubiganus’ emendation of the text). Sorcerers among them are as skilled as in the land of Philistia, which was known for its oracles (2 Sam 1:2). Contact with foreigners the Hebrews had both in trade, politics, and in marriages.

Isaiah 2:7. Their land is filled with silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures; their land is also filled with horses, and there is no end to their chariots; Attraction to external splendor of the state was condemned beforehand by Moses. And the prophet Isaiah rebukes the Hebrews here for being ready, because of money, to do anything, not denying the right to enrich themselves (cf. Hos 2:8).

Isaiah 2:8. and their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. “Idols” – from Hebrew clilim, that is, nothingness. This word is probably a contemptuous designation with respect to the name of the true God.

Isaiah 2:9. So people are brought low, and everyone is humbled – and You will not forgive them. “Humiliation” seems to the prophet, of course, to be the falling into paganism with its vices.

Isaiah 2:10. Enter into the rock and hide in the earth from the terror of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty. Rocks in Palestine, or more precisely caves in the rocks, always served the Jews as a place of refuge in case of enemy attacks (Judg 6:2; 1 Sam 13:6). The prophets Moses and Elijah also hid in rocks before the manifestation of God’s glory (Exod 33:22; 1 Sam 19:13). “The fear of the Lord” – this is not only fear before the invasion of enemy hosts, which the Lord will send against His people, but also fear before the Almighty appearing as Judge.

Isaiah 2:11. The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the pride of men shall be humbled; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. “In that day” – an expression similar to “in the last days” (Isa 2:2), but pointing to times closer to the prophet, as is evident from the context of the speech.

Isaiah 2:12. For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up – and it will be brought low, – “The day of the Lord of hosts” – a day of the terrible judgment of God (cf. Joel 1:15; Joel 2 and following). Regarding the name Lord of hosts, see chapter 1, verse 9.

Isaiah 2:13. and against all the cedars of Lebanon, the high and lofty, and against all the oaks of Bashan, Isaiah 2:14. and against all the high mountains, and against all the hills that are lifted up, Isaiah 2:15. and against every high tower, and against every fortified wall, Isaiah 2:16. and against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful vessels. “Cedars” on the mountains of Lebanon grew formerly in abundance. Their eternally green appearance and branches spreading out like an umbrella seem very beautiful and majestic. “Oaks” in Bashan (the region beyond the Jordan) were distinguished by their strength. “Towers” were built to watch for the approach of enemy forces by kings Uzziah and Jotham; they also erected the walls of Jerusalem (2 Chr 26:9; 2 Chr 27:3). “Ships of Tarshish” – these are large ocean-going vessels on which one could sail to Tarshish (a Phoenician colony in Spain) and to other distant lands (1 Sam 9:26-28). “The beauty” of the ships – expensive items brought by ship to Palestine (1 Sam 10:22). Uzziah, as is known (2 Sam 14:22), took possession of the harbor of Elath on the Red Sea, which later under Ahaz was again lost by the Jews (2 Sam 16:6).

Isaiah 2:17. And the pride of man shall be humbled, and the loftiness of men shall be brought low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, Isaiah 2:18. and the idols shall completely disappear. Isaiah 2:19. And they shall enter the caverns of the rocks and the caves of the earth, from the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth. Isaiah 2:20. In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, Isaiah 2:21. to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the mountains, from the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth. The Jews will stop hoping for the help of their idols and will cast them away or hide them in dark holes where unclean moles and bats live (cf. Amos 4:3).

Isaiah 2:22. Stop relying on man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for of what account is he? The Jews have nothing to hope for even from mighty men, who can quickly lose their life (or breath) as soon as the Lord decides to take away their life. According to the opinion of biblical scholars, chapters 2–4 belong to the earliest years of Isaiah’s ministry, because they reflect the character of this period. The second chapter is an integral and independent prophetic speech (it should begin with verse 28 of chapter 1). The situation described from verse 6 of chapter 2 corresponds well with the prosperous time of the last years of Uzziah, and most interpreters refer this speech to the year 740 (the year of the death of King Uzziah). Verses 2–5, which contain the prophecy about the exaltation of the mountain of the Lord, wedge themselves into the prophecy about the misfortunes awaiting Judea (chapter 1, verse 28 and chapter 2, verses 6 and following) and therefore Condamin places these verses after verse 22, so that he gets the usual structure of a prophetic speech: the picture of the transgressions of the Jewish people, the threat of punishment, descriptions of the day of God’s judgment, and finally, messianic promises. Since the words of the prophecy of chapter 2, verses 2–4 are repeated in the book of the prophet Micah (Mic 4:1-5) almost word for word, some interpreters recognize here the fact that one prophet borrowed the prophecy from another. Some recognize Isaiah as the true author of the prophecy, others recognize Micah, and still others consider both prophets to be borrowers from some unknown source. Finally, some assume that this prophecy was inserted into both the book of Isaiah and the book of Micah by someone after the Babylonian captivity, because the idea of the conversion of the nations to true faith is of later origin. From our commentators, Grigoryev (in the work: The Messiah and His Kingdom according to the Book of Isaiah – Orthodox Companion. 1902. Appendix p. 10) expresses the opinion that both prophets were in this case completely independent, having received the same revelation. This opinion leads to the strange supposition that the Holy Spirit spoke to the prophets in one and the same words and expressions, so that they appear in such a case as mere instruments recording – nothing more... Of all the aforementioned opinions, the most probable is the supposition that both prophets repeated in their speeches the prediction of one of the prophets who preceded them and enjoyed special respect among the Jewish people. The stanzas of the poem of chapter 2 are arranged in the following way by Condamin: Chapter 1, verses 28–31 – 3, 2 Chapter 2, verses 6–8 – 2, 3 Chapter 2, verses 10–19 – 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2 Chapter 2, verses 2–3a – 3, 2 Chapter 2, verses 3, 6–5 – 2, 3 Verses 1–3 of chapter 2 are read as a paroemia at the feast of the Ascension of the Lord, of course, because what is said here about the glory of the mountain of the Lord has application also to the exaltation of the mountain from which the Lord ascended into heaven.