Isaiah 2:8-9

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 2:9

And the mean man boweth down , etc. So Ewald and Kay; but most other commentators render, "Therefore shall the mean man be bowed down, and the great man brought low, and thou shalt not [or, 'canst not'] forgive them" (Rosenmüller, Lowth, Gcsenius, Knobel, Cheyne). The transition from narrative to threatening comes best at the beginning of the verse. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 2:8

Their land also is full of idols - compare Hosea 8:4; Hosea 10:1. Vitringa supposes that Isaiah here refers to idols that were kept in private houses, as Uzziah and Jotham were worshippers of the true God, and in their reign idolatry was not publicly practiced. It is certain, however, that though Uzziah himself did right, and was disposed to worship the true God, yet he did not effectually remove idolatry from the land. The high places were not removed, and the people still sacrificed and... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 2:9

And the mean man - That is, the man in humble life, the poor, the low in rank - for this is all that the Hebrew word here - אדם 'âdâm - implies. The distinction between the two words here used - אדם 'âdâm as denoting a man of humble rank, and אישׁ 'ı̂ysh as denoting one of elevated rank - is one that constantly occurs in the Scriptures. Our word “mean” conveys an idea of moral baseness and degradation, which is not implied in the Hebrew.Boweth down - That is, before idols. Some... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Isaiah 2:8-9

Isaiah 2:8-9. Their land also is full of idols Every city had its god, (Jeremiah 11:13,) and, according to the goodness and fertility of their lands, they made goodly images, Hosea 10:1. They worship the work of their own hands They gave that worship to their own creatures, to the images which their own fancies had devised, and their own fingers had made, which they denied to JEHOVAH their Creator, than which nothing could be more impious or more absurd. And the mean man boweth down, ... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Isaiah 2:1-22

Jerusalem as it should be and as it is (2:1-22)God’s people always looked for the day when Jerusalem would be the religious centre of the world, where people of all nations would go to be taught the ways of God. In that day there would be no more war, but contentment and prosperity (2:1-4). (A note on the new Jerusalem is included in the introduction to Chapters 40-66, where the subject of Jerusalem’s future glory is considered more fully.) Such hope for the future is all the more reason why... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 2:8

idols = nothings. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:1 .Deuteronomy 17:14-19; Deuteronomy 17:14-19 ). App-92 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Isaiah 2:9

mean man. Hebrew. 'addm. App-14 . Contrasting great man. Hebrew. 'ish . App-14 . society's extremes read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Isaiah 2:9

Isaiah 2:9. And the mean man boweth down, &c.— And the mean man shall be brought down, and the great man shall be humbled; and thou wilt not forgive them. Vitringa. This rendering is not only agreeable to the 11th and 17th verses of this chapter, and 15th of the fifth, but also to the scope of the argument; for the prophet begins here to describe the imminent severe judgment of God, wherewith he would punish the pride of these men, and their alienation from the true worship of God and the... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 2:8

8. ( :-). Not so much public idolatry, which was not sanctioned in Uzziah's and Jotham's reign, but (see 2 Kings 15:4; 2 Kings 15:35) as private. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Isaiah 2:9

9. mean—in rank: not morally base: opposed to "the great man." The former is in Hebrew, Adam, the latter, ish. boweth—namely, to idols. All ranks were idolaters. forgive . . . not—a threat expressed by an imperative. Isaiah so identifies himself with God's will, that he prays for that which he knows God purposes. So :-. read more