Isaiah 2:10
in Isaiah 2Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty.
KJV
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty.
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This verse in Isaiah 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verse“When he ariseth to strike the earth with terror” - On the authority of the Septuagint, confirmed by the Arabic and an ancient MS., I have added here to the text a line, which in the 19th and 21st verses (Isa 2:19, Isa 2:21) is repeated together with the preceding line, and has, I think, evidently been omitted by mistake in this place. The MS. here varies only in one letter from the reading of the other two verses; it has בארץ baarets, instead of הארץ haarets. None of De Rossi’s MSS. confirm this addition.
This site's exposition
Go into the rocks and hide
on Isaiah 2:10-11
Verse 10 opens a refrain the chapter repeats at verses 19 and 21. Verse 11 supplies the other half of the refrain, repeated at verse 17 and framing the list as one argument stated twice. "The proud look of man" brought low states what verses 12 to 16 spell out.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10) Enter into the rock: Hide in the pit, covered by the ground, from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory of His majesty. Indeed, I have exhorted the people, saying: House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, he places, ironically, the counsel to escape, saying, "enter you"; as if to say, since he himself does not send you away, it remains that you should hide yourself from his face. "Enter you into the rock," literally, into the fissures of the rocks …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): " Enter into the rock; God will attack you with such terrible judgments, and strike you with such terrible apprehensions of them, that you shall be forced to enter into the rock, and hide yourself in the dust, for fear of the Lord.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Enter - Such calamities are coming upon you, that you will be ready to hide yourselves in rocks and caves of the earth, for fear of the glorious and terrible judgments of God.
Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Poetical form of expressing that, such were their sins, they would be obliged by God's judgments to seek a hiding-place from His wrath (Re 6:15, 16). dust--equivalent to "caves of the earth," or dust (Isa 2:19). for fear, &c.--literally, "from the face of the terror of the Lord."
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Enter into the rock - That is, into the “holes or caverns” in the rocks, as a place of refuge and safety; compare Isa 2:19, and Rev 6:15-16. In times of invasion by an enemy, it was natural to flee to the fastnesses or to the caverns of rocks for refuge. This expression is highly figurative and poetic. The prophet warns them to flee from danger. The sense is, that such were their crimes that they would certainly be punished; and he advises them to flee to a place of safety. And hide thee in the dust - In Isa 2:19, this is ‘caves of the dust.’ It is parallel to the former, and probably has a similar meaning. But “may” there not be reference here to the mode prevailing in the East of avoiding the monsoon or poisonous heated wind that passes over the desert? Travelers there, in order to be safe, are obliged to throw themselves down, and to place their mouths close to the earth until it has passed. For fear of the Lord - Hebrew ‘From the face of the terror of the Lord.’ That is, the punishment which God will inflict will sweep over the land, producing fear and terror. And for the glory ... - That is, the honor or splendor which will attend him when he comes forth to inflict judgment on the people; Isa 2:19-20.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Come into the rock To come into the rock to escape in the cracks of the rocks.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
They shall enter into the rock in order to flee with a flight, and to be hidden in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the brightness of His glory.
The haughty eyes of man [This means] the haughty spirit, and so every expression of haughty eyes in the Scriptures, as it is said: “Whoever is haughty of eye, lustful in heart..” (Ps.:5).
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בּ֣וֹא | bo' | go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בַצּ֔וּר | vatzur | in the rock | H6697 → | 78 times |
| וְהִטָּמֵ֖ן | vehitamen | and hide yourself | H2934 → | |
| בֶּֽעָפָ֑ר | beafar | in the dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
| מִפְּנֵי֙ | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פַּ֣חַד | pachad | [the] dread of | H6343 → | 49 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּמֵהֲדַ֖ר | umehadar | and from [the] splendor of | H1926 → | 30 times |
| גְּאֹנֽוֹ׃ | geono | majesty his | H1347 → | 49 times |
בּ֣וֹאgo
bo'H935 →2568 times
בַצּ֔וּרin the rock
vatzurH6697 →78 times
וְהִטָּמֵ֖ןand hide yourself
vehitamenH2934 →
בֶּֽעָפָ֑רin the dust
beafarH6083 →110 times
מִפְּנֵי֙from before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
פַּ֣חַד[the] dread of
pachadH6343 →49 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּמֵהֲדַ֖רand from [the] splendor of
umehadarH1926 →30 times
גְּאֹנֽוֹ׃majesty his
geonoH1347 →49 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
Luke 23:30At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
it leads to
- Revelation 6:16
And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 2:19
Men 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Revelation 9:6
In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
- Revelation 6:16
Through
Hosea 10:8The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
it leads to
- Luke 23:30
At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
- 1 Kings 12:28–30
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out…
- Isaiah 32:13
and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers—even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry.
- Luke 23:30
Through
Jeremiah 10:7Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
it leads to
- Revelation 15:4
Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Revelation 15:4
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
This page draws on 10 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); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.