Bible Strands
Isaiah 2:19
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Judah during a vision of the day when Yahweh rises to shake the earth. The moment arrives after the complete vanishing of idols and before the people cast their silver and gold idols to moles and bats.
The words — The Hebrew phrase וּבָאוּ בִמְעָרוֹת צֻרִים (u.va'u bi'me'arot tzurim) literally renders "and they will go into the caves of the rocks." This verb of movement paired with the noun for rocks describes a forced retreat into the earth itself.
The thread — The identical command to hide in rocks and dust from the terror of the LORD appears in Isaiah 2:10. Luke 23:30 echoes the flight motif, while Isaiah 2:21 repeats the cave imagery and Isaiah 2:20 shows the discarded idols cast into the ground.
Why it lands — The text states that human constructed objects and pride cannot withstand divine judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that only Yahweh’s majesty remains when the earth is shaken and all refuge is found in the ground.
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
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 2:10 Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
- Luke 23:30 At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
- Isaiah 2:21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks and crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Hosea 10:8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
- Haggai 2:6 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
- Hebrews 12:26 At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”
- Revelation 6:12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
- Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
- 1 Samuel 13:6 Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 14:11 So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”