Three Figures of Speech in Isaiah 2:12-18
Isaiah 2 describes some of the events of the Day of the Lord, called “the last days” in verse 2. We know from the Scriptures that one of the purposes of the Day of the Lord is to bring low the pride of man and to exalt God alone. We can read about the Day of the Lord in many places throughout the Scriptures, as we read about it in this passage:
Isaiah 2:11–18 (NASB95)
11“The proud look of man will be abased And the loftiness of man will be humbled, And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”
12For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased.
13And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan,
14Against all the lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15Against every high tower, Against every fortified wall,
16Against all the ships of Tarshish And against all the beautiful craft.
17The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 And the idols will completely vanish.
There are some figures of speech in these six verses including anaphora, metaphor, and polysyndeton.
If we ignore the man-made verses, we first notice the repetition of the word “against” appearing at the beginning of successive phrases and clauses. This is the figure of speech anaphora:
· Against everyone who is proud and lofty
· Against everyone who is lifted up
· Against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
· Against all the oaks of Bashan,
· Against all the lofty mountains,
· Against all the hills that are lifted up,
· Against every high tower,
· Against every fortified wall,
· Against all the ships of Tarshish
· Against all the beautiful craft.
During the Day of the Lord, the wrath of God is leveled against those who are prideful and lifted up. The repetition of the word “against” underscores the target of God’s Wrath.
Next, the passage mentions things in nature like cedars, oaks, mountains, and hills, along with man-made things like towers, walls, ships, and beautiful craft (meaning handicraft). Why would God’s wrath during the Day of the Lord be leveled at things in nature or manmade things? A mountain can’t be haughty; a ship can’t be arrogant. Such phraseology arrests our attention. And indeed, this is where we see the second figure of speech, metaphor, a figure of representation.
In this passage, things in nature and man-made things are metaphors for the pride of man. Notice it is not just any ole cedar, oak, mountain, or hill, but lofty cedars, oaks of Bashan, which were renowned for their size, lofty mountains, and hills that are liftedup. Likewise, it isn’t any ole tower, wall, ship, or handicraft that is mentioned, but high towers, strengthened walls, ships of Tarshish, which were renowned for their size and strength, and beautiful handicrafts. These eight items are not literal but metaphoric. In other words, God will not execute His wrath against mountains, hills, ships, and so forth, but He will execute His wrath against the pride of man, represented in this passage by things in nature and manmade things.
Finally, we see the figure polysyndeton in verses 17-18a, where the connective “and” is repeated beyond the norm. This figure is obscured by the man-made versification. So, when we remove the verses, we are able to see the figure more clearly:
The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
And the idols will completely vanish.
This figure enumerates each item, underscoring that on the Day of the Lord, the loftiness or pride of man will be brought low, idols will completely vanish, and God alone will be exalted.
Today, when we witness injustice being done, when we see the pride of man being rewarded, when we see God-rejectors being exalted while God’s people are slighted or mistreated, then we can remember that the Day of the Lord is coming. And during that Day, man’s pride will be forever dealt with. The prideful will be brought low, and God alone will be exalted. Three figures in Isaiah 2:12-18, anaphora, metaphor, and polysyndeton, draw our attention to these great realities. What a day that will be when God alone will be exalted!
