The Meaning of Isaiah 2:18 Explained

Isaiah 2:18

KJV: And the idols he shall utterly abolish.

YLT: And the idols -- they completely pass away.

Darby: and the idols shall utterly pass away.

ASV: And the idols shall utterly pass away.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the idols  he shall utterly  abolish. 

What does Isaiah 2:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 2:12-22 - An Exhortation To Humility And Reverence
If men will not repent, they must suffer. If they will not voluntarily put away their idols and sorceries, they will be compelled to do so in the anguish of their disappointment with their helpless deities, Isaiah 2:20. Nothing in that great civilization would be spared. High towers, fenced walls, ships, treasures, armor-all would perish. Their vaunted faith in man would cease. Life would become elemental in its simplicity amid the shelter of the ragged rocks. In sarcastic phrase the prophet depicts a despairing nation choosing for ruler the first man that came along with a decent coat on his back, Isaiah 2:6; but in vain. We can almost hear the sob of the prophet's soul in Isaiah 2:8-9, and recall the tears of a greater than Isaiah, Who wept over this same Jerusalem eight hundred years afterward. Patriotism is one of the purest passions that can burn in the heart of man! "Lives there a man, with soul so dead, that never to himself has said, This is my own, my native land!" [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Isaiah 2:18 mean?

But the idols utterly He shall abolish
וְהָאֱלִילִ֖ים כָּלִ֥יל יַחֲלֹֽף

וְהָאֱלִילִ֖ים  But  the  idols 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלִיל  
Sense: of nought, good for nothing, worthless.
כָּלִ֥יל  utterly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כָּלִיל  
Sense: entire, all, perfect adv.
יַחֲלֹֽף  He  shall  abolish 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָלַף 
Sense: to pass on or away, pass through, pass by, go through, grow up, change, to go on from.