Bible Strands
Isaiah 2:11
The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Isaiah addresses the people of Judah in the context of the coming Day of the LORD, immediately after calling them to hide from the terror of God's majesty (Isaiah 2:10).
The words — עֵינֵי גַבְהוּת ('ei.Nei gav.Hut), "eyes of haughtiness," renders the "proud look" as a visible, physical posture rather than an abstract trait. The verb נִשְׂגַּב (nis.Gav, "he will be exalted") is used only of the LORD, creating a sharp grammatical contrast with the passive humbling of men.
The thread — The same formula—human pride brought low, the LORD alone exalted—appears in Isaiah 2:17 and Isaiah 5:15, and the motif of haughty eyes being humbled recurs in Psalms 18:27.
Why it lands — It places the reader on the side of the humbled, not the exalted, and names the specific thing that will be dismantled: the visible, proud posture of human self-elevation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 5:15 So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled; the arrogant will lower their eyes.
- Psalms 18:27 For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.
- Isaiah 2:17 So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
- Isaiah 12:4 and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.
- Isaiah 13:11 I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
- Isaiah 24:21 In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
- Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Micah 4:6 “On that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the outcast, even those whom I have afflicted.
- Jeremiah 30:7 How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.
- Jeremiah 50:31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.