Isaiah 2:9
New International Version
So people will be brought low and everyone humbled— do not forgive them.

New Living Translation
So now they will be humbled, and all will be brought low— do not forgive them.

English Standard Version
So man is humbled, and each one is brought low— do not forgive them!

Berean Standard Bible
So mankind is brought low, and man is humbled—do not forgive them!

King James Bible
And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

New King James Version
People bow down, And each man humbles himself; Therefore do not forgive them.

New American Standard Bible
So the common person has been humbled And the person of importance has been brought low, But do not forgive them.

NASB 1995
So the common man has been humbled And the man of importance has been abased, But do not forgive them.

NASB 1977
So the common man has been humbled, And the man of importance has been abased, But do not forgive them.

Legacy Standard Bible
So the common man has been bowed down, And the man of importance has been made low, But do not forgive them.

Amplified Bible
So the common man has been humbled [before idols] And the man of importance has been degraded, Therefore do not forgive them [O LORD].

Christian Standard Bible
So humanity is brought low, and each person is humbled. Do not forgive them!

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So humanity is brought low, and man is humbled. Do not forgive them!

American Standard Version
And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low: therefore forgive them not.

Contemporary English Version
And so, all of them will be ashamed and disgraced. Don't forgive them!

English Revised Version
And the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is brought low; therefore forgive them not.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
People will be brought down. Everyone will be humbled. Do not forgive them.

Good News Translation
Everyone will be humiliated and disgraced. Do not forgive them, LORD!

International Standard Version
"So mankind is humbled, each human being is brought low, and you won't forgive."

Majority Standard Bible
So mankind is brought low, and man is humbled?do not forgive them!

NET Bible
Men bow down to them in homage, they lie flat on the ground in worship. Don't spare them!

New Heart English Bible
So people bow down, people are low, therefore do not lift them up.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

World English Bible
Man is brought low, and mankind is humbled; therefore don’t forgive them.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And the low bows down, and the high is humbled, "" And You do not accept them.

Young's Literal Translation
And the low boweth down, and the high is humbled, And Thou acceptest them not.

Smith's Literal Translation
And man will bow down, and a man will humble himself, and thou shalt not lift up to them.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And man hath bowed himself down, and man hath been debased: therefore forgive them not.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And man has bowed himself down, and so man has become debased. Therefore, you should not forgive them.

New American Bible
So all shall be abased, each one brought low. Do not pardon them!

New Revised Standard Version
And so people are humbled, and everyone is brought low— do not forgive them!
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the common man is humbled, and the mighty man is brought low; therefore forgive them not.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And a man is humbled, and the mighty man is fallen, and you shall not forgive them
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And man boweth down, And man lowereth himself; And Thou canst not bear with them.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the mean man bowed down, and the great man was humbled: and I will not pardon them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Day of Reckoning
8Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. 9So mankind is brought low, and man is humbled— do not forgive them! 10Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.…

Cross References
Romans 1:21-23
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Philippians 2:10-11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, / and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 6:15-17
Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. / 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. / For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”

Psalm 115:4-8
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; ...

Jeremiah 10:14-15
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them. / They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.

Ezekiel 8:10-12
So I went in and looked, and engraved all around the wall was every kind of crawling creature and detestable beast, along with all the idols of the house of Israel. / Before them stood seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising. / “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? For they are saying, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’”

Micah 5:13-15
I will also cut off the carved images and sacred pillars from among you, so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands. / I will root out the Asherah poles from your midst and demolish your cities. / I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”

1 Corinthians 8:5-6
For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many so-called gods and lords), / yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.

2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

Revelation 9:20-21
Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. / Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft.

Psalm 135:15-18
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. / They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; / they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. ...

Hosea 13:2
Now they sin more and more and make for themselves cast images, idols skillfully made from their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. People say of them, “They offer human sacrifice and kiss the calves!”

Habakkuk 2:18-20
What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. / Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.” / But the LORD is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.

1 Kings 19:18
Nevertheless, I have reserved seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols.


Treasury of Scripture

And the mean man bows down, and the great man humbles himself: therefore forgive them not.

the mean

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:

Psalm 49:2
Both low and high, rich and poor, together.

Jeremiah 5:4,5
Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God…

humbleth

Isaiah 57:9
And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

Colossians 2:18,23
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, …

therefore

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: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

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 transgressions nor your sins.

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 let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

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Abased Acceptest Bear Bent Bowed Boweth Cause Common Face Forgive Forgiveness Goes Great Head Humbled Humbleth Importance Low Mankind Mean Poor
Isaiah 2
1. Isaiah prophesies the coming of Christ's kingdom
6. Wickedness is the cause of God's forsaking
10. He exhorts to fear, because of the powerful effects of God's majesty














So mankind is brought low
The phrase "mankind is brought low" reflects the Hebrew word "שָׁחַח" (shachach), which means to bow down or be humbled. This imagery is powerful, suggesting a forced humility or abasement. In the context of Isaiah, this lowering of mankind is a result of their pride and idolatry. Historically, the Israelites often turned to idols and foreign alliances, forsaking their covenant with God. This phrase serves as a reminder of the consequences of such actions, emphasizing that human pride will ultimately lead to downfall. It is a call to recognize our dependence on God and the futility of self-exaltation.

and man is humbled
The word "humbled" here is derived from the Hebrew "שָׁפֵל" (shafel), which also means to be brought low or to be made humble. This repetition underscores the certainty and severity of the judgment. In a broader scriptural context, humility is a recurring theme, where God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). The humbling of man is not just a physical or social lowering but a spiritual awakening to the reality of God's sovereignty. It is a call to repentance and a return to a right relationship with God.

do not forgive them!
This phrase is striking and may seem harsh at first glance. The Hebrew root "נָשָׂא" (nasa) for "forgive" can also mean to lift or carry away. In this context, Isaiah is expressing a prophetic declaration of judgment. The plea for non-forgiveness is not a denial of God's mercy but a recognition of the seriousness of sin and the need for genuine repentance. It reflects the gravity of Israel's rebellion and the justice of God. From a conservative Christian perspective, this highlights the balance between God's justice and mercy, reminding believers of the importance of sincere repentance and the consequences of persistent sin. It serves as a sobering reminder of the need for a heart aligned with God's will.

(9) And the mean man boweth down.--The English gives adequately the significance of the two words for "man"--in Hebrew, adam and ish. The Authorised Version applies the words to the prostrations of the worshippers of idols, whether of low or high degree; others refer them to the punishment of that idolatry: The mean man must be bowed down . . . the great man must be humbled.

Therefore forgive them not.--As a prayer the words find a parallel in Psalm 69:27; Psalm 109:14, but the rendering adopted by Cheyne and others, And thou canst not forgive them, is perhaps preferable. The sin is treated as "a sin unto death," for which it is vain to pray (Isaiah 22:14).

Verse 9. - And the mean man boweth down, etc. So Ewald and Kay; but most other commentators render, "Therefore shall the mean man be bowed down, and the great man brought low, and thou shalt not [or, 'canst not'] forgive them" (Rosenmüller, Lowth, Gcsenius, Knobel, Cheyne). The transition from narrative to threatening comes best at the beginning of the verse.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So mankind
אָדָ֖ם (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

is brought low,
וַיִּשַּׁ֥ח (way·yiš·šaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7817: To bow, be bowed down, crouch

and man
אִ֑ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

is humbled—
וַיִּשְׁפַּל־ (way·yiš·pal-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 8213: To be or become low, to be abased

do not
וְאַל־ (wə·’al-)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

forgive them!
תִּשָּׂ֖א (tiś·śā)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5375: To lift, carry, take


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 2:9 Man is brought low and mankind (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 2:8
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