Isaiah 2:22

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

Cease: Psalms 62:9, Psalms 146:3, Jeremiah 17:5

whose: Genesis 2:7, Genesis 7:22, Job 27:3

for wherein: Job 7:15-21, Psalms 8:4, Psalms 144:3, Psalms 144:4

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 9:20 - it was 2 Chronicles 14:11 - man Job 4:21 - die Job 6:21 - ye are nothing Psalms 108:12 - for vain Psalms 146:4 - his thoughts Isaiah 3:1 - behold Isaiah 20:5 - their glory Isaiah 30:7 - Their Isaiah 51:12 - that thou Jeremiah 9:15 - I will Daniel 6:9 - signed Luke 8:43 - had 1 Corinthians 4:6 - that ye James 2:26 - as

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

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.

Genesis 2:19
And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

Psalms 127:1
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.

Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

1 Timothy 2:13
For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.

Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Cease ye from man, whose breath [is] in his nostrils,.... "From that man" y, meaning antichrist, the man of sin; who is but a mere man, a poor, frail, mortal man; though he sits in the temple of God, as if he was God, showing himself to be God, by taking that to himself which belongs to the Deity. This is advice to the followers of antichrist, to cease from going after him, and worshipping him, seeing he is not the living God, but a dying man:

for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Targum is,

"for he is alive today, and tomorrow he is not, and he is to be accounted as nothing;''

and much less as Peter's successor, as head of the church, and vicar of Christ, and as having all power in heaven, earth, and hell. It may be applied to men in general, in whom no confidence is to be placed, even the greatest of men, Psalms 118:8 and particularly the Egyptians, in whom the Jews were apt to trust, who were men, and not God; and whose horses were flesh, and not spirit, Isaiah 31:3 so Vitringa; but the first sense is best.

y מן האדם.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Cease ye from man - That is, cease to confide in or trust in him. The prophet had just said Isaiah 2:11, Isaiah 2:17 that the proud and lofty people would be brought low; that is, the kings, princes, and nobles would be humbled. They in whom the people had been accustomed to confide should show their insufficiency to afford protection. And he calls on the people to cease to put their reliance on any of the devices and refuges of men, implying that trust should be placed in the Lord only; see Psalms 146:3-4; Jeremiah 17:5.

Whose breath is in his nostrils - That is, who is weak and short-lived, and who has no control over his life. All his power exists only while he breathes, and his breath is in his nostrils. It may soon cease, and we should not confide in so frail and fragile a thing as the breath of man; see Psalms 146:3-5 :

Put not your trust in princes,

Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;

In that very day his thoughts perish.

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God.

The Chaldee has translated this verse, ‘Be not subject to man when he is terrible, whose breath is in his nostrils; because today he lives, and tomorrow he is not, and shall be reputed as nothing.’ It is remarkable that this verse is omitted by the Septuagint, as Vitringa supposes, because it might seem to exhort people not to put confidence in their rulers.

For wherein ... - That is, he is unable to afford the assistance which is needed. When God shall come to judge people, what can man do, who is weak, and frail, and mortal? Refuge should be sought in God. The exhortation of the prophet here had respect to a particular time, but it may be applied in general to teach us not to confide in weak, frail, and dying man. For life and health, for food and raiment, for home and friends, and especially for salvation, we are dependent on God. He alone can save the sinner; and though we should treat people with all due respect, yet we should remember that God alone can save us from the great day of wrath.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 2:22. Cease ye from man — Trust neither in him, nor in the gods that he has invented. Neither he, nor they, can either save or destroy.