Isaiah 2:18
in Isaiah 2and the idols will vanish completely.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the idols shall utterly pass away.
KJV
And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
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This verse in Isaiah 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 18) And the pride of men shall be humbled, and the lofty heights of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and all idols shall be utterly crushed. Human discourse seems to have reason as long as it is not compared to divine knowledge. But when falsehood approaches truth like straw to fire, it is quickly consumed and perishes, and all the doctrines of falsity, which are now called idols, because they are feigned and fabricated, shall be utterly crushed.
This site's exposition
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low
on Isaiah 2:17-19
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down repeats verse eleven's refrain almost word for word, the repetition itself part of the argument, God's exaltation stated as settled fact before the catalogue and restated as settled fact after it. The idols he shall utterly abolish stands opposite the mountain of the house at the chapter's opening, where the nations came to be taught; here the false gods that competed for that same devotion are simply erased. Fleeing into the holes of the rocks and the caves of the earth pictures worshippers hiding in the very ground their idols of silver and gold were dug from, the ore returning to where it was mined.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
"And idols shall be utterly destroyed": "your idols shall be broken in pieces and shall be no more, and your temples shall be destroyed" (Ezek 6:6).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the idols he shall utterly abolish. The images of saints worshipped by the Papists: after the destruction of antichrist, and when the spiritual reign of Christ takes place, there will be no idolatry or worshipping of images any more, see Zec 13:2. The word אלילים, used for "idols", signifies things that are not, for an idol is nothing in the world, 1Co 8:4 these the Lord "will cause to pass away", even all of them, they shall disappear.
And now which of these Jerusalems will we be the inhabitants of--that which is full of the knowledge of God, which will be our everlasting honour, or that which is full of horses and chariots, and silver and gold, and such idols, which will in the end be our shame?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Shall utterly abolish “Shall disappear” - The ancient versions and an ancient MS. read יחלפו yachalpu, plural. One of my MSS. reads יחלוף yachaloph, probably a mistake for יחלפו yachalpu.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
idols--literally, "vain things," "nothings" (1Co 8:4). Before the Babylonian captivity the Jews were most prone to idolatry; in no instance, ever since. For the future fulfilment, see Zec 13:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the idols - Note, Isa 2:8. Abolish - Hebrew, ‘Cause to pass away or disappear.’ He shall entirely cause their worship to cease. This prediction was most remarkably fulfilled. Before the captivity at Babylon, the Jews were exceedingly prone to idolatry. It is a remarkable fact that no such propensity was ever evinced “after” that. In their own land they were entirely free from it; and scattered as they have been into all lands, they have in every age since kept clear from idolatry. Not an instance, probably, has been known of their relapsing into this sin; and no temptation, or torture, has been sufficient to induce them to bow down and worship an idol. This is one of the few instances that have occurred where affliction and punishment have “completely” answered their design.
The words behind it
3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָאֱלִילִ֖ים | vehaelilim | and the idols | H457 → | 20 times |
| כָּלִ֥יל | kalil | completely | H3632 → | |
| יַחֲלֹֽף׃ | yachalof | it will pass away | H2498 → | 28 times |
וְהָאֱלִילִ֖יםand the idols
vehaelilimH457 →20 times
כָּלִ֥ילcompletely
kalilH3632 →
יַחֲלֹֽף׃it will pass away
yachalofH2498 →28 times
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
Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- Jeremiah 33:8
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Titus 3:5–6
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
- Hebrews 10:22
Through
Ezekiel 37:23They will no longer defile themselves with their idols or detestable images, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all their apostasies by which they sinned, and I will cleanse…
it leads to
- Revelation 21:3–4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Ezekiel 36:28–29
Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.
- 1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Revelation 21:3–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.