Isaiah 2:13
in Isaiah 2against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
KJV
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
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This verse in Isaiah 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verse(Verse 13) And above all the tall and erect cedars of Lebanon, and above all the oaks of Bashan. And in the twenty-eighth psalm it is sung: The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars; the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon and crush them like the calf of Lebanon (Psalm 28:5). And in the thirty-sixth psalm: I saw the wicked exalted and raised up like the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and he was no more, and I searched for him, and his place was not found (Psalm 6:34).
This site's exposition
For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty
on Isaiah 2:12-16
The day of the Lord of hosts falls upon every category of natural and human height in a single list, the cedars of Lebanon and oaks of Bashan for the tallest trees the ancient world knew, every high mountain and lifted hill for the land's own geography, every tower and fenced wall for the works of defense, and the ships of Tarshish, the ocean going merchant fleet, for wealth that could outrun any army. Pleasant pictures closing the list is read by the older commentators as decorated craft or carved imagery, one more thing prized for its own beauty rather than for the Lord's. The list's variety is the point, nothing that stands tall by nature or by human effort is exempt from the day named twice already in the refrain around it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here he places the subtraction of things which make for defense. And first, as to things that pertain to preparing machines of war: either because of their height, and thus he says, "upon all the cedars"; or because of their strength, and thus he says, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,.... That is, upon the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with Babylon, and will join with the beast and false prophet in making war with the Lamb.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And upon all the cedars of Lebanon - This is a beautiful specimen of the poetic manner of writing, so common among the Hebrews, where spiritual and moral subjects are represented by grand or beautiful imagery taken from objects of nature. Mount Lebanon bounded Palestine on the north. It was formerly much celebrated for its large and lofty cedars. These cedars were from thirty-five to forty feet in girth, and very high. They were magnificent trees, and were valuable for ceiling: statues, or roofs, that required durable, and beautiful timber.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zec 11:1, 2; compare Re 19:18-21). Bashan--east of Jordan, north of the river Jabbok, famous for fine oaks, pasture, and cattle. Perhaps in "oaks" there is reference to their idolatry (Isa 1:29).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And upon all the cedars “Even against all the cedars” - Princes, potentates, rulers, captains, rich men, etc. - So Kimchi. These verses afford us a striking example of that peculiar way of writing, which makes a principal characteristic of the parabolical or poetical style of the Hebrews, and in which the prophets deal so largely, namely, their manner of exhibiting things Divine, spiritual, moral, and political, by a set of images taken from things natural, artificial, religious, historical, in the way of metaphor or allegory. Of these nature furnishes much the largest and the most pleasing share; and all poetry has chiefly recourse to natural images, as the richest and most powerful source of illustration. But it may be observed of the Hebrew poetry in particular, that in the use of such images, and in the application of them in the way of illustration and ornament, it is more regular and constant than any other poetry whatever; that it has for the most part a set of images appropriated in a manner to the explication of certain subjects. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
the cedars of the Lebanon This is symbolic of the heroes [var. the kings].
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַל֙ | veal | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַרְזֵ֣י | ʾarzei | [the] cedars of | H730 → | 73 times |
| הַלְּבָנ֔וֹן | halevanon | <the> Lebanon | H3844 → | 71 times |
| הָרָמִ֖ים | haramim | that are lofty | H7311 → | 190 times |
| וְהַנִּשָּׂאִ֑ים | vehannisaim | and which are lifted up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| וְעַ֖ל | veal | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אַלּוֹנֵ֥י | ʾalonei | [the] oaks of | H437 → | 8 times |
| הַבָּשָֽׁן׃ | habashan | <the> Bashan | H1316 → |
וְעַל֙and on
vealH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַרְזֵ֣י[the] cedars of
ʾarzeiH730 →73 times
הַלְּבָנ֔וֹן<the> Lebanon
halevanonH3844 →71 times
הָרָמִ֖יםthat are lofty
haramimH7311 →190 times
וְהַנִּשָּׂאִ֑יםand which are lifted up
vehannisaimH5375 →656 times
וְעַ֖לand on
vealH5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אַלּוֹנֵ֥י[the] oaks of
ʾaloneiH437 →8 times
הַבָּשָֽׁן׃<the> Bashan
habashanH1316 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 2:5So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
it leads to
- Hosea 8:14
Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.
- Jeremiah 17:27
But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an…
- Jeremiah 21:10
For I have set My face against this city to bring disaster and not good, declares the LORD. It will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, who will destroy it…
- Jeremiah 37:8–10
Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.
- Jeremiah 52:13
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- Hosea 8:14
Through
Isaiah 37:24Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut…
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:8
Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon exult over you: “Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter comes against us.”
- Isaiah 10:18
The splendor of its forests and orchards, both soul and body, it will completely destroy, as a sickness consumes a man.
- Isaiah 14:8
Through
Isaiah 14:8Even the cypresses and cedars of Lebanon exult over you: “Since you have been laid low, no woodcutter comes against us.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 31:16
I made the nations quake at the sound of its downfall, when I cast it down to Sheol with those who descend to the Pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and…
- Ezekiel 31:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.