Bible Strands
Isaiah 5:15
So mankind will be brought low, and each man humbled; the arrogant will lower their eyes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah pronounces this judgment on Judah and Jerusalem immediately after describing Sheol’s jaws opening to swallow Zion’s nobles and revelers. The declaration marks the moment of divine reckoning before the LORD’s justice fully manifests.
The words — The Hebrew verb שָׁחַף (va/i.yi.Shach) means to be brought low or humbled, and גְבֹהִים (ge.vo.Him) refers to the proud or lofty. The text explicitly states that mankind will be humbled and the arrogant will lower their eyes as a direct result of coming judgment.
The thread — This pattern of universal humiliation and the lowering of the proud recurs in "Isaiah 2:9" and "Isaiah 2:11", where human loftiness is systematically brought low. "Jeremiah 5:4" also connects this theme to those who do not know the way of the LORD, noting their foolishness and poverty of spirit.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that human status and pride are subject to divine correction rather than self-justification. It demands a sober expectation that God’s justice will humble the arrogant and display His holiness through righteousness.
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 the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled:
Cross-references
- Isaiah 2:9 So mankind is brought low, and man is humbled—do not forgive them!
- 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.
- Jeremiah 5:4 Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God.
- Exodus 9:17 Still, you lord it over My people and do not allow them to go.
- Job 40:11 Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.
- Psalms 62:9 Lowborn men are but a vapor; the exalted are but a lie. Weighed on the scale, they go up; together they are but a vapor.
- 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 9:14 So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day.
- Isaiah 10:12 So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud look in his eyes.
- Isaiah 10:33 Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.