Isaiah 2–4: The Mountain, the Day, and the Daughters of Zion
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORDwill be established as the chief of the mountains;it will be raised above the hills,and all nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,to the house of the God of Jacob.He will teach us his waysso that we may walk in his paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion,and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.Then he will judge between the nationsand arbitrate for many peoples.They will beat their swords into plowsharesand their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation,nor train anymore for war.
Come, O house of Jacob,let us walk in the light of the LORD.For you have abandoned your people,the house of Jacob,because they are filledwith influences from the east;they are soothsayers like the Philistines;they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
Their land is full of silver and gold,with no limit to their treasures;their land is full of horses,with no limit to their chariots.Their land is full of idols;they bow down to the work of their hands,to what their fingers have made.So mankind is brought low,and man is humbled—do not forgive them!
Go into the rocksand hide in the dustfrom the terror of the LORDand the splendor of his majesty.The proud look of man will be humbled,and the loftiness of men brought low;the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
For the Day of the LORD of Hostswill come against all the proud and lofty,against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up,against all the oaks of Bashan,against all the tall mountains,against all the high hills,against every high tower,against every fortified wall,against every ship of Tarshish,and against every stately vessel.
So the pride of man will be brought low,and the loftiness of men will be humbled;the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,and the idols will vanish completely.Men will flee to caves in the rocksand holes in the ground,away from the terror of the LORDand from the splendor of his majesty,when he rises to shake the earth.
In that day men will cast awayto the moles and batstheir idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.They will flee to caverns in the rocksand crevices in the cliffs,away from the terror of the LORDand from the splendor of his majesty,when he rises to shake the earth.
Put no more trust in man,who has only the breath in his nostrils.Of what account is he?For behold, the Lord GOD of Hostsis about to removefrom Jerusalem and Judahboth supply and support:the whole supply of food and water,the mighty man and the warrior,the judge and the prophet,the soothsayer and the elder,the commander of fifty and the dignitary,the counselor, the cunning magician, and the clever enchanter.
“I will make mere lads their leaders,and children will rule over them.”
The people will oppress one another,man against man, neighbor against neighbor;the young will rise up against the old,and the base against the honorable.
A man will seize his brotherwithin his father’s house:“You have a cloak—you be our leader!Take charge of this heap of rubble.”
On that day he will cry aloud:“I am not a healer.I have no food or clothing in my house.Do not make me leader of the people!”
For Jerusalem has stumbledand Judah has fallenbecause they spoke and acted against the LORD,defying his glorious presence.The expression on their faces testifies against them,and like Sodom they flaunt their sin;they do not conceal it.Woe to them,for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
Tell the righteous it will be well with them,for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them!For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.Youths oppress my people,and women rule over them.O my people, your guides mislead you;they turn you from your paths.
The LORD arises to contend;he stands to judge the people.The LORD brings this chargeagainst the elders and leaders of his people:“You have devoured the vineyard;the plunder of the poor is in your houses.Why do you crush my peopleand grind the faces of the poor?”declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
The LORD also says:
“Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held highand wanton eyes,prancing and skipping as they go,jingling the bracelets on their ankles—the Lord will bring soreson the heads of the daughters of Zion,and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”
In that day the Lord will take away their finery:their anklets and headbands and crescents;their pendants, bracelets, and veils;their headdresses, ankle chains, and sashes;their perfume bottles and charms;their signet rings and nose rings;their festive robes, capes, cloaks, and purses;and their mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and shawls.
Instead of fragrancethere will be a stench;instead of a belt, a rope;instead of styled hair, baldness;instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;instead of beauty, shame.
Your men will fall by the sword,and your warriors in battle.And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn;destitute, she will sit on the ground.In that day seven womenwill take hold of one man and say,“We will eat our own breadand provide our own clothes.Just let us be called by your name.Take away our disgrace!”
On that day the Branch of the LORDwill be beautiful and glorious,and the fruit of the landwill be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.Whoever remains in Zionand whoever is left in Jerusalemwill be called holy—all in Jerusalem who are recorded among the living—when the Lord has washed awaythe filth of the daughters of Zionand cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalemby a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zionand over her assembliesa cloud of smoke by dayand a glowing flame of fire by night.For over all the glorythere will be a canopy,a shelter to give shadefrom the heat by day,and a refuge and hiding placefrom the storm and the rain.