EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Isaiah 2:4
4God will be the judge between different nations. When they argue together, he will say who is right. They will take their swords and they will make them into ploughs. Their spears will become knives to cut their vines. Nations will no longer need weapons to attack other nations. They will not prepare to fight wars any more.
Isaiah 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
- New International Version (NIV)He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
- New King James Version (NKJV)He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.
Context of Isaiah 2:4
2This is what will happen in the last days. The mountain where the Lord's temple is will continue to be there. It will be the most important mountain of all. It will be higher than all the hills around it. People from every nation will go there all the time. 3As they come, people from many nations will say, ‘Come! We will go to the mountain of the Lord, Jacob's God. We will go to worship him at his temple. Then he will teach us how to live in a way that pleases him. We will be able to walk in his paths.’ At that time, Zion will be the place where people learn about what is right. Yes, in Jerusalem the Lord will teach people his message. God will be the judge between different nations. When they argue together, he will say who is right. They will take their swords and they will make them into ploughs. Their spears will become knives to cut their vines. Nations will no longer need weapons to attack other nations. They will not prepare to fight wars any more. 5Jacob's family, come now! We need to live in the light that the Lord gives to us. 6Lord, you have gone away from your people. They are Jacob's descendants. They are full of ideas from countries in the east. They use magic to learn about future times, as the Philistines do. They join hands with foreign people.
Read all of Isaiah 2Isaiah 2:4 word by word
וְשָׁפַט֙ בֵּ֣ין הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְהוֹכִ֖יחַ לְעַמִּ֣ים רַבִּ֑ים וְכִתְּת֨וּ חַרְבוֹתָ֜ם לְאִתִּ֗ים וַחֲנִיתֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹת לֹא־יִשָּׂ֨א ג֤וֹי אֶל־גּוֹי֙ חֶ֔רֶב וְלֹא־יִלְמְד֥וּ ע֖וֹד מִלְחָמָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he shall judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- among the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- and shall rebukeיָכַחyâkach · to rebukeH3198
- manyרַבrab · manyH7227
- peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- and they shall beatכָּתַתkâthath · to crushH3807
- their swordsחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- into plowsharesאֵת'êth · plowshareH855
- and their spearsחֲנִיתchănîyth · spearH2595
- into pruninghooksמַזְמֵרָהmazmêrâh · pruning-knifeH4211
- shall not lift upנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: fightH5375
- neither shall they learnלָמַדlâmad · to learn: learnH3925
- warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
Cross-references for Isaiah 2:4
- Isaiah 11:3To obey the Lord will make him very happy. He will not judge people because of what he sees with his eyes. He will not judge them because of what he hears about them with his ears.
- 1 Samuel 2:10The Lord will destroy his enemies. He will shout against them from heaven like loud thunder. The Lord will judge everyone on earth. He will make his king strong. He will give power to the king that he has chosen to rule.’
- Psalms 82:8God, now do something! Judge all the nations of the earth. For they all belong to you.
- Psalms 96:13They will sing to praise the Lord, for he will come to judge the earth. He is a fair judge. He will judge all the people of the world with his truth.
- Psalms 110:6He will punish the nations, so that dead bodies cover the ground. He will destroy kings everywhere on the earth.
- John 16:8When he comes, he will show the people of this world what they are like. He will show clearly that they are wrong. They are wrong about what sin really is. They are wrong about who is right with God. They are wrong about how God judges people.
- Acts 17:31God has already chosen one special day. On that day he will judge everyone in the world in a completely right way. He has chosen a man who will do this for him. He has shown clearly to everyone who that man is. He showed it like this: People killed that man. But God caused him to live again.’
- Revelation 19:11I saw that heaven was now open. I saw a white horse there! The name of the man who was riding the horse was this: ‘A faithful, honest person’. He is always right when he judges people and when he goes to punish them in war.
- Isaiah 9:7His authority to rule will be very great. The peace that he brings will never have an end. He will rule as king over David's kingdom. He will make it strong and safe, because he will do what is right and fair. He will rule like that now and for ever. The Lord Almighty will make those things happen, because he loves his people.
- Isaiah 11:6When he is king, wolves will live beside lambs! Leopards will lie down with young goats! Young cows and lions will feed together, and a young child will take care of them!
- Psalms 46:9All over the world, he causes wars to finish. He destroys the soldiers' bows and spears. He burns their shields in a fire.
- Hosea 2:18At that time, I will make a promise that nothing will hurt my people. I will make an agreement with the wild animals, with the birds in the fields and with the animals that move along the ground. I will remove from their land all the weapons that soldiers use to fight wars. I will destroy their swords and their bows and arrows. I will allow my people to live safely in peace.
- Joel 3:10Make your ploughs into swords. Make the tools that you use on the farm into spears. The weak man must say, ‘I am strong!’
- Micah 4:3He will judge between the people of many nations When they argue together, he will decide who is right. He will cause strong nations everywhere to stop fighting each other. They fight with swords and spears. But at that time, they will make their swords into ploughs. They will make their spears into knives to cut their vines. Nations will no longer need weapons to fight each other. They will never prepare to fight wars again.
- Zechariah 9:10I will take away the chariots from Ephraim, and the horses of war from Jerusalem. The bows of war will be broken. He will speak to all the countries and wars will finish. He will rule from sea to sea. He will rule from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
- Isaiah 60:17I will bring you gold instead of bronze. I will bring you silver instead of iron. I will give you bronze to use, instead of wood. I will give you iron instead of stones. I will cause peace to be your city's leader. Righteousness will rule over you.
Commentaries on Isaiah 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Neither shall they learn war any more - If wars are necessary, how deep must that fall be that renders them so! But what a reproach to humanity is the trade of war! Men are regularly instructed in it, as in any of the necessary arts. "How to dislodge most souls from their frail shrines By bomb, sword, ball, and bayonet, is the art Which some call great and glorious!" And is this a necessary part of a finished education in civilized society? O Earth!…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And he shall judge - Or he shall exercise the office of a judge, or umpire. This “literally” refers to the God of Jacob Isaiah 2:3, though it is clear that the meaning is, that he will do it by the Messiah, or under his reign. One office of a judge is to decide controversies; to put an end to litigations, and thus to promote peace. The connection shows that this is the meaning here. Nations that are contending shall be brought to peace by the influence of…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The kingdom of God becomes clear when conflict and violence stop. It is characterized by peace (Romans 14:17). People will either choose to cooperate or be compelled to stop fighting (Psalm 46:9). Nations will choose divine judgment instead of war (see Isaiah 1:18–20). The words judge and arbitrate describe God's actions here, but later verses show the Messiah as the one who delivers justice (Isaiah 11:3–4). When this happens, war will end, and nations…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. judge--as a sovereign umpire, settling all controversies (compare Is 11:4). Lowth translates "work," "conviction." plowshares--in the East resembling a short sword (Is 9:6, 7; Zec 9:10).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 2:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
EasyEnglish Bible 2018 — Copyright © MissionAssist 2018
Commentaries