Bible: Isa. 2:5-3:15
2:5 O descendants 1 of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the
The Lord’s Day of Judgment
2:6 Indeed, O
the descendants of Jacob.
For diviners from the east are everywhere; 4
they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. 5
Plenty of foreigners are around. 6
2:7 Their land is full of gold and silver;
there is no end to their wealth. 7
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots. 8
2:8 Their land is full of worthless idols;
they worship 9 the product of their own hands,
what their own fingers have fashioned.
2:9 Men bow down to them in homage,
they lie flat on the ground in worship. 10
Don’t spare them! 11
2:10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,
hide in the ground.
Get away from the dreadful judgment of the
from his royal splendor!
2:11 Proud men will be brought low,
arrogant men will be humiliated; 13
the
in that day.
2:12 Indeed, the
for 16 all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud – they will be humiliated;
2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan; 17
2:14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills, 18
2:15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
2:16 for all the large ships, 19
for all the impressive 20 ships. 21
2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low; 22
the
in that day.
2:18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated. 24
2:19 They 25 will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground, 26
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 28
2:20 At that time 29 men will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made for themselves to worship, 30
into the caves where rodents and bats live, 31
2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs
and the openings under the rocky overhangs, 32
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth. 34
2:22 Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life’s breath is in their nostrils.
For why should they be given special consideration?
A Coming Leadership Crisis
3:1 Look, the sovereign
is about to remove from Jerusalem 36 and Judah
every source of security, including 37
all the food and water, 38
3:2 the mighty men and warriors,
judges and prophets,
omen readers and leaders, 39
3:3 captains of groups of fifty,
the respected citizens, 40
advisers and those skilled in magical arts, 41
and those who know incantations.
3:4 The
malicious young men 43 will rule over them.
3:5 The people will treat each other harshly;
men will oppose each other;
neighbors will fight. 44
Youths will proudly defy the elderly
and riffraff will challenge those who were once respected. 45
3:6 Indeed, a man will grab his brother
right in his father’s house 46 and say, 47
‘You own a coat –
you be our leader!
This heap of ruins will be under your control.’ 48
3:7 At that time 49 the brother will shout, 50
‘I am no doctor, 51
I have no food or coat in my house;
don’t make me a leader of the people!’”
3:8 Jerusalem certainly stumbles,
Judah falls,
for their words and their actions offend the
they rebel against his royal authority. 53
3:9 The look on their faces 54 testifies to their guilt; 55
like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. 56
Too bad for them! 57
For they bring disaster on themselves.
3:10 Tell the innocent 58 it will go well with them, 59
for they will be rewarded for what they have done. 60
3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!
For they will get exactly what they deserve. 61
3:12 Oppressors treat my 62 people cruelly;
creditors rule over them. 63
My people’s leaders mislead them;
they give you confusing directions. 64
3:13 The
he stands up to pass sentence on his people. 65
3:14 The
on the leaders of his people and their officials.
He says, 66 “It is you 67 who have ruined 68 the vineyard! 69
You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. 70
3:15 Why do you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor?” 71
The sovereign