Yesaya 2:1-4

The Future Glory of Jerusalem

2:1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem ¹  that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz. ² 

2:2 In the future ³ 

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure ⁴ 

as the most important of mountains,

and will be the most prominent of hills. ⁵ 

All the nations will stream to it,

2:3 many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,

to the temple of the God of Jacob,

so ⁶  he can teach us his requirements, ⁷ 

and ⁸  we can follow his standards.” ⁹ 

For Zion will be the center for moral instruction; ¹⁰ 

the Lord will issue edicts from Jerusalem. ¹¹ 

2:4 He will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares, ¹² 

and their spears into pruning hooks. ¹³ 

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war.

Yesaya 45:14

The Lord is the Nations’ Only Hope

45:14 This is what the Lord says:

“The profit ¹⁴  of Egypt and the revenue ¹⁵  of Ethiopia,

along with the Sabeans, those tall men,

will be brought to you ¹⁶  and become yours.

They will walk behind you, coming along in chains. ¹⁷ 

They will bow down to you

and pray to you: ¹⁸ 

‘Truly God is with ¹⁹  you; he has no peer; ²⁰ 

there is no other God!’”

[2:1]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “the word which Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.”

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “in the end of the days.” This phrase may refer generally to the future, or more technically to the final period of history. See BDB 31 s.v. ַאחֲרִית. The verse begins with a verb that functions as a “discourse particle” and is not translated. In numerous places throughout the OT, the “to be” verb with a prefixed conjunction (וְהָיָה [vÿhayah] and וַיְהִי [vayÿhi]) occurs in this fashion to introduce a circumstantial clause and does not require translation.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Or “be established” (KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “as the chief of the mountains, and will be lifted up above the hills.” The image of Mount Zion being elevated above other mountains and hills pictures the prominence it will attain in the future.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verb form with simple vav (ו) introduces a purpose/result clause after the preceding prefixed verb form (probably to be taken as a cohortative; see IBHS 650 §39.2.2a).

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “his ways.” In this context God’s “ways” are the standards of moral conduct he decrees that people should live by.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn The cohortative with vav (ו) after the prefixed verb form indicates the ultimate purpose/goal of their action.

[2:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “walk in his ways.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for out of Zion will go instruction.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

[2:4]  ¹² sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[2:4]  ¹³ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:93; M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle. Breaking weapons and fashioning agricultural implements indicates a transition from fear and stress to peace and security.

[45:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “labor,” which stands metonymically for the fruits of labor, either “monetary profit,” or “products.”

[45:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “merchandise” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “the gain of Ethiopia”; CEV “the treasures of Ethiopia.”

[45:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “they will pass over to you”; NASB, NIV “will come over to you”; CEV “will belong to you.”

[45:14]  ¹⁷ sn Restored Israel is depicted here in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion as an imperial power that receives riches and slaves as tribute.

[45:14]  ¹⁸ sn Israel’s vassals are portrayed as so intimidated and awed that they treat Israel as an intermediary to God or sub-deity.

[45:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or perhaps, “among.” Cf. KJV, ASV “Surely God is in thee.”

[45:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “there is no other” (so NIV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 18, in v. 21, and at the end of v. 22.