ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
down
וַיִּשַּׁ֥חvai.yi.Shach
H7817
to sink or depress (reflexive or causative) · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
man
אִ֑ישׁ'Ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
humbleth
וַיִּשְׁפַּלvai.yish.pal-
H8213
to depress or sink (expectation figuratively · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
forgive
תִּשָּׂ֖אti.Sa'
H5375
to lift · verb, qal jussive, 2nd person masculine singular
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
Isaiah 5:15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
Joshua 24:19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressio…
Nehemiah 4:5 And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builder…
Isaiah 27:11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding…
Jeremiah 18:23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but…
Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Psalms 49:2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Isaiah 2:6-9
The calling in of the Gentiles was accompanied with the rejection of the Jews; it was their fall, and the diminishing of them, that was the riches of the Gentiles; and the casting off of them was the reconciling of the world (Rom 11:12-15); and it should seem that these verses have reference to that, and are designed to justify God therein, and yet it is probable that they are primarily intended for the convincing and awakening of the men of that generation in which the prophet lived, it being usual with the prophets to speak of the things that then were, both in mercy and judgment, as types of the things that should be hereafter. Here is,
I. Israel's doom. This is set forth in two words, th…
mean--in rank: not morally base: opposed to "the great man." The former is in Hebrew, Adam, the latter, ish.
boweth--namely, to idols. All ranks were idolaters.
forgive . . . not--a threat expressed by an imperative. Isaiah so identifies himself with God's will, that he prays for that which he knows God purposes. So Rev 18:6.
John Gill on Isaiah 2:9
And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself,.... Both high and low, rich and poor, bow down unto, humble themselves before, and worship idols made by the hands of men: the words for the "mean man" and "the great man" are and "Adam" and "Ish"; and which are also interpreted by Jarchi of little or mean men, and of princes and mighty ones:
therefore forgive them not; their sins of soothsaying, covetousness, and idolatry; and such that worship the beast and his image shall not be forgiven, but drink of the wine of divine wrath, and be tormented with fire for ever and ever, Revelation 14:9. These are either the words of the prophet to the Lord representing the church, and i…
And the mean man boweth down Some commentators read these words in immediate connection with what goes before, as if the Prophet were proceeding still farther to show the extent of their criminality. If we adopt this meaning, then by the mean man and the mighty man we must understand all the Israelites; as if the Prophet said that no man is pure and free from this stain. Others not improperly are of opinion that he repeats in other words what he had said about punishment, and that in this way he expresses the destruction which awaits a people forsaken by God. This will agree best with the scope of the passage, that all, both small and great, will speedily be overtaken by the ruin which lays…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 9) And his land was filled with idols: they worshipped the work of their own hands, what their fingers have made. And man bowed down, and the man was humbled. Where once stood the Temple and the religion of God, there stood the statue of Hadrian and the idol of Jupiter. Many interpret this as a testimony, which we read in the Gospel: But when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (Mark 13:14). And they inclined the works of their hands: and man, a rational animal, adored copper and stone. However, there are those who interpret these things about the Jews, that before they were taken captive by the Babylonians, they did all these things, and therefore they were abandoned by God. Therefore, at the end of the chapter it is stated: Therefore, do not let them go. In accordance with the anagoge, we can also say this, that every doctrine contrary to truth adores the works of its own hands, and establishes idols in its own land, and man is bowed down, and the man is humbled, and he cannot raise himself up: because he is bound by the devil, unless the Lord raises him up, like that woman whom Satan had bound for eighteen years, so that she could never look up to heaven, but constantly looked at the earth (Luke 13). Therefore, do not let them go. For this is how the Seventy translated it: And I will not let them go. If God is speaking, it is to be understood thus: Because they have done so much, I will not spare them, nor will I forgive such countless sins. If it is the Prophet speaking, it is to be understood thus: Therefore, do not let them go, those who have committed such wickedness. But if we understand it of the Romans, the truer interpretation is: those who have overthrown the temple of God did not worship Him who granted victory, but instead worshipped idols made by their own hands. But if we speak about the Jewish people, the Prophets' words are harsh, as if they seem to pray against their own people, to whom he had said before: House of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.
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
Isaiah · and distrust of God — and distrust of God
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).
It was a state ripe for judgment, from which, therefore, the prophet could at once proceed, without any further preparation, to the proclamation of judgment itself."Thus, then, men are bowed down, and lords are brought low; and forgive them - no, that Thou wilt not." The consecutive futures depict the judgment, as one which would follow by inward necessity from the worldly and ungodly glory of the existing state of things. The future is frequently used in this way (for example, in Isa 9:7.). It was a judgment by which small and great, i.e., the people in all its classes, were brought down from their false eminence. "Men" and "lords" (âdâm and ish, as in Isa 5:15; Psa 49:3, and Pro 8:4, and…
Isaiah pointed out all the things that people substitute for the true God: material achievements and securities (silver . . . treasures), military strength (warhorses . . . chariots), and objects of affection (idols). Such wealth and military strength characterized the reign of King Uzziah (2 Chr 26:6-21). Elsewhere, Isaiah pointed out the sheer folly of worshiping anything that is made with one’s own hands (see Isa 44:9-20; 45:16).
Rashi on Isaiah 2:9
And man has become bowed down [This refers to] inferior [men].
and man has become humble [This refers to] great [men], heroes, and warriors.
and You shall not forgive them The prophet says to the Holy One, blessed be He: And I know that you shall not forgive them from punishing them.