Isaiah 2:16

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁰Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty. ¹¹The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. ¹²For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted-it will be humbled- ¹³against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, ¹⁴against all the tall mountains, against all the high hills, ¹⁵against every high tower, against every fortified wall, ¹⁶against every ship of Tarshish, and every stately vessel.¹⁷So 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, ¹⁸and the idols will vanish completely. ¹⁹Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the ships: Isaiah 23:1, 1 Kings 10:22, 1 Kings 22:48, 1 Kings 22:49, Psalms 47:7, Revelation 18:17-19

pleasant pictures: Heb. pictures of desire, Numbers 33:52, Revelation 18:11

Reciprocal: Psalms 48:7 - ships Isaiah 60:9 - the ships Jeremiah 25:34 - pleasant vessel Ezekiel 27:12 - General Ezekiel 27:25 - ships Daniel 11:8 - their precious vessels Jonah 1:3 - Tarshish Revelation 8:9 - the ships

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Genesis 2:2
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

Genesis 2:9
Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

1 Samuel 15:22
But Samuel declared: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.

1 Timothy 4:4
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,

1 Timothy 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be conceited and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of wealth, but in God, who richly provides all things for us to enjoy.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And upon all the ships of Tarshish,.... Upon all the merchants and merchandises of Rome. The Targum is,

"and upon all that dwell in the islands of the sea.''

See Revelation 16:20. Tarshish, as Vitringa observes, designs Tartessus or Gades in Spain, which must bring to mind the memorable destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1558, as he also notes.

And upon all pleasant pictures; of Christ and the Virgin Mary, of angels, and of saints departed, the Papists make use of to help their devotion. The Targum is,

"and upon all that dwell in beautiful palaces;''

such as those of the pope and his cardinals at Rome, and of archbishops and bishops at other places. The Septuagint version is, "and upon all the sight of the beauty of ships"; such were the ships of the Phoenicians, which were very much ornamented, and beautiful to behold.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And upon all the ships of Tarshish - Ships of Tarshish are often mentioned in the Old Testament, but the meaning of the expression is not quite obvious; see 1Ki 10:22; 2 Chronicles 9:21; 2 Chronicles 20:36-37; Psalms 48:7, ... It is evident that “Tarshish” was some distant land from which was imported silver, iron, lead, tin, etc. It is now generally agreed that “Tartessus” in Spain is referred to by the Tarshish of Scripture. Bruce, however, supposes that it was in Africa, south of Abyssinia; see the note at Isaiah 60:9. That it was in the “west” is evident from Genesis 10:4; compare Psalms 72:10. In Ezekiel 28:13, it is mentioned as an important place of trade; in Jeremiah 10:9, it is said that silver was procured there; and in Ezekiel 28:12, it is said that iron, lead, silver, and tin, were imported from it. In 2 Chronicles 9:21, it is said that the ships of Tarshish returned every three years, bringing gold and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. These are productions chiefly of India, but they might have been obtained in trade during the voyage. In Isaiah 23:1; Isaiah 60:9, the phrase, ‘ships of Tarshish,’ seems to denote ships that were bound on long voyages, and it is probable that they came to denote a particular kind of ships adapted to long voyages, in the same way as the word “Indiaman” does with us. The precise situation of “Tarshish” is not necessary to be known in order to understand the passage here. The phrase, ‘ships of Tarshish,’ denotes clearly ships employed in foreign trade, and in introducing articles of commerce, and particularly of luxury. The meaning is, that God would embarrass, and destroy this commerce; that his judgments would be on their articles of luxury, The Septuagint renders it, ‘and upon every ship of the sea, and upon every beautiful appearance of ships.’ The Targum, ‘and upon those who dwell in the isles of the sea, and upon those who dwell in beautiful palaces.’

And upon all pleasant pictures - Margin, ‘pictures of desire;’ that is, such as it should be esteemed desirable to possess, and gaze upon; pictures of value or beauty. Tatum, ‘costly palaces.’ The word rendered ‘pictures,’ שׂכיות s'^ekı̂yôth, denotes properly “sights,” or objects to be looked at; and does not designate “paintings” particularly, but everything that was designed for ornament or luxury. Whether the art of painting was much known among the Hebrews, it is not now possible to determine. To a certain extent, it may be presumed to have been practiced; but the meaning of this place is, that the divine judgment should rest on all that was designed for mere ornament and luxury; and, from the description in the previous verses, there can be no doubt that such ornaments would abound.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 2:16. Isaiah 2:13.