Isaiah 2

This chapter belongs to the opening section of Isaiah (chapters 1–5). Chapter 1 indicts Judah for its sins and promises restoration. Chapter 2 then opens with a new superscription (v. 1) and sets a future vision of Zion against a declaration of judgment.

Outline

• Verse 1 Superscription: the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz received concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
• Verses 2–4 In the last days the mountain of the LORD's house will be established above all the mountains, and all nations will stream to it to learn the ways of the LORD. People will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will not learn war any more.
• Verse 5 The house of Jacob is summoned: "Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD."
• Verses 6–9 The LORD is said to have forsaken His people, who are filled with customs from the east and with soothsaying, who have made alliances with foreigners, and whose land is full of silver and gold, horses, chariots, and idols.
• Verses 10–21 On the Day of the LORD, the proud and all that is lofty (the cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bashan, high towers, and the ships of Tarshish) will be brought low. People will cast their idols of silver and gold to the moles and the bats and hide in the clefts of the rocks. The refrain "the LORD alone shall be exalted" is repeated in verses 11 and 17.
• Verse 22 The chapter closes with a warning not to trust in man, whose breath is in his nostrils.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 2:3 "For out of Zion shall go forth the law" — the Gentile nations come to receive the LORD's instruction.
• Isaiah 2:4 "They shall beat their swords into plowshares" — a classic biblical image of peace in which war has ceased.
• Isaiah 2:11 "The LORD alone shall be exalted in that day" — a summary of the theme of the judgment section.

People and Places

• Isaiah: The prophet of this book.
• Amoz: Isaiah's father, a different person from the prophet Amos.
• Zion and Jerusalem: The place where the mountain of the LORD is established.
• Philistia: Cited as an example of soothsayers (diviners).
• Lebanon and Bashan: Northern regions renowned for their towering trees.
• Tarshish: A place known for distant maritime trade.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 2–4 are nearly identical to Micah 4:1–3, and there is no consensus on which passage came first.
• The phrase "Beat your plowshares into swords" in Joel 3:10 is commonly read as a reversal of this chapter's language.
• Interpretations of how "the last days" are fulfilled differ according to one's position in eschatology. Dispensationalists see here a prophecy of the coming Millennium. Many Reformed interpreters apply the passage both to the church age, in which the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to the nations (Acts 1:8), and to the final consummation.
• The scene of hiding in the clefts of the rocks in verse 19 recalls Revelation 6:15–16.
• Verse 22 is reportedly absent from the Septuagint.

In the Korean Church

Verse 4 is frequently cited in sermons and prayer meetings on the themes of peace and the reunification of North and South Korea.