Isaiah 2:4 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Isaiah 2:4
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.
to judge · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
nations
הַגּוֹיִ֔םha.go.Yim
H1471
a foreign nation · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
rebuke
וְהוֹכִ֖יחַve.ho.Khi.ach
H3198
to be right (i.e. correct) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
many
רַבִּ֑יםra.Bim
H7227
abundant (in quantity · adjective, masculine plural absolute
people
לְעַמִּ֣יםle.'a.Mim
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
beat
וְכִתְּת֨וּve.khi.te.Tu
H3807
to bruise or violently strike · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
swords
חַרְבוֹתָ֜םchar.vo.Tam
H2719
drought · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
plowshares
לְאִתִּ֗יםle.'i.Tim
H855
a hoe or other digging implement · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
spears
וַחֲנִיתֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙va.cha.ni.to.tei.Hem
H2595
a lance (for thrusting · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
pruninghooks
לְמַזְמֵר֔וֹתle.maz.me.Rot
H4211
a pruningknife · preposition + noun, common feminine plural absolute
nation
ג֤וֹיGoy
H1471
a foreign nation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
יִשָּׂ֨אyi.Sa'
H5375
to lift · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sword
חֶ֔רֶבChe.rev
H2719
drought · noun, common feminine singular absolute
nation
גּוֹי֙goy
H1471
a foreign nation · noun, common masculine singular absolute
learn
יִלְמְד֥וּyil.me.Du
H3925
properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
war
מִלְחָמָֽהmil.cha.Mah
H4421
a battle (i.e. the engagement) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hosea 2:18 And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of…
Micah 4:3 And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears…
Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling togeth…
Zechariah 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unt…
Isaiah 60:17-18 For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace,…
Psalms 46:9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Isaiah 32:18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to estab…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 2:1-5
The particular title of this sermon (Isa 2:1) is the same with the general title of the book (Isa 1:1), only that what is there called the vision is here called the word which Isaiah saw (or the matter, or thing, which he saw), the truth of which he had as full an assurance of in his own mind as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes. Or this word was brought to him in a vision; something he saw when he received this message from God. John turned to see the voice that spoke with him. Rev 1:12.
This sermon begins with the prophecy relating to the last days, the days of the Messiah, when his kingdom should be set up in the world, at the latter end of the Mosaic economy. In the last days of the…
judge--as a sovereign umpire, settling all controversies (compare Isa 11:4). LOWTH translates "work," "conviction."
plowshares--in the East resembling a short sword (Isa 9:6-7; Zac 9:10).
John Gill on Isaiah 2:4
And he shall judge among the nations,.... Or, "it shall judge"; either the mountain of the Lord's house, as Abarbinel thinks, that is, the church; for in the spiritual reign of Christ, in the latter day, the judgment shall be given to the saints of the most High, and they shall possess the kingdom; the power of civil government will be in their hands, and they shall judge the world; for kings will then be nursing fathers to them, and queens nursing mothers. Or the law and word of the Lord, the Gospel, which judges men now, and declares who are condemned, and who are not; and will judge them at the last day: or, "he shall judge", that is, the Messiah, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech inte…
And he shall judge among the nations He means that the doctrine will be like a king's scepter, that God may rule among all nations; for, by a figure of speech in which a part is taken for the whole, the Hebrew word spht, (shaphat,) to judge, means to govern or to reign. since, therefore, God had not taken more than one nation to be subject to his reign, the Prophet here shows that the boundaries of his kingdom will be enlarged, that he may rule over various nations. He likewise notices indirectly the difference between the kingdom of David, which was but a shadow, and this other kingdom, which would be far more excellent. At that time God ruled over his chosen people by the hand of David, bu…
The Church Fathers
Who is the one who has done this, or who is the one who has joined together in peace people who once hated one another, except for the beloved Son of the Father, the Savior of all, even Jesus Christ, who because of his own love suffered all things for our salvation? For from ages past the peace he would initiate was promised.
Not only would the church be firm, steadfast and indestructible, but it would also gain great peace for the world. Governments and monarchies will be destroyed; there will be but one kingdom put together for all people, and, unlike in times past, its greater part will be at peace. For, in the past, all craftsmen and men in public life were trained in warfare and took their place among the ranks. After the coming of Christ, all that was done away with, and wars were confined to widely separated areas.
The gospel will be this "way" of the new law and the new word in Christ, no longer in Moses. "And he shall judge among the nations," even concerning their error. "And these shall rebuke a large nation," that of the Jews themselves and their proselytes. "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares"; in other words, they shall change into pursuits of moderation and peace the dispositions of injurious minds, hostile tongues and all kinds of evil and blasphemy.… You learn here that Christ is promised not as powerful in war but pursuing peace.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Coulter — (1 Sam. 13:20, 21), an agricultural instrument, elsewhere called “ploughshare” (Isa. 2:4; Micah 4:3; Joel 3:10). It was the facing-piece of a plough, analogous to the modern coulter.
Hook — (1.) Heb. hah, a “ring” inserted in the nostrils of animals to which a cord was fastened for the purpose of restraining them (2 Kings 19:28; Isa. 37:28, 29; Ezek. 29:4; 38:4). “The Orientals make use…
Hook, Hooks — Various kinds of hooks are noticed in the Bible, of which the following are the most important:
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Peace favourable to — Peace favourable to
Armies Of Israel, The · Educated in the art of war — Educated in the art of war
Gentiles · PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF — PROPHECIES OF THE CONVERSION OF
Heathen, The · Salvation of, foretold — Salvation of, foretold
Hooks · For pruning — For pruning
Iron · Described as: Malleable — Described as: Malleable
Jews, The · Promises respecting: Blessing to the Gentiles by conversion of — Promises respecting: Blessing to the Gentiles by conversion of
Nation · Promises of peace to — Promises of peace to
"And He will judge between the nations, and deliver justice to many peoples; and they forge their swords into coulters, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation lifts not up the sword against nation, neither do they exercise themselves in war any more." Since the nations betake themselves in this manner as pupils to the God of revelation and the word of His revelation, He becomes the supreme judge and umpire among them. If any dispute arise, it is no longer settled by the compulsory force of war, but by the word of God, to which all bow with willing submission. With such power as this in the peace-sustaining word of God (Zac 9:10), there is no more need for weapons of iron: they are turne…
The Kingdom of God is evident when conflict and violence end, and it is characterized by peace (Rom 14:17). People will cooperate willingly or they will be forced to end their hostilities (Ps 46:9). The nations will submit to divine arbitration rather than go to war (see Isa 1:18-20). • The words mediate and settle refer to God’s acts here, but later verses show the Messiah as the executor of justice (11:3-4). When this takes place, war will cease, and the nations will change their instruments of war into agricultural tools. • swords into plowshares: Cp. Joel 3:10, where the nations are exhorted to hammer their plowshares into swords.
Rashi on Isaiah 2:4
into plowshares koltres in O.F.
pruning hooks sarpes in O.F. [serpes in modern French], with which they prune the vineyards.
Plowshare · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Pruning · Pruninghook — Pruninghook
Reproof · Christ sent to give — Christ sent to give
Spear · Changed into pruning-hooks — Changed into pruning-hooks
Sword · To be beaten into plowshares — To be beaten into plowshares
Sword, The · In time of peace made into plough shares — In time of peace made into plough shares
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
