arrogant about one’s own goodness and moral virtue
—She thinks she’s so much better than everyone else. I can’t stand her holier-than-thou attitude

In the Bible, holy means “to be sacred, worthy of worship, or, in the case of people, in harmony with God’s will.” But Isaiah reported God’s criticism of people who claimed to be holy while breaking his laws. In fact, they were so arrogant that when other people approached them, they told them to stay away:

Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you [holier than thou]! (Isaiah 65:5)

to get out of bed and start the day
—Early in the morning on the first day of school, my mother turned on the lights and woke me with a cheerful, “Rise and shine!”

In telling the Israelites about the future time when God would show his glory, the prophet Isaiah called on the people to

“Arise! Shine! [Arise, shine] For your light arrives!

The splendor of the Lord shines on you!

For, look, darkness covers the earth

and deep darkness covers the nations,

but the Lord shines on you;

his splendor appears over you. (Isaiah 60:1,2)

Within 50 years after the printing of the King James Bible, William Erbery, a priest in the Church of England, wrote about Isaiah 60:1, using the phrase we have today, rise and shine.

In the early 1900s, rise and shine became a wake-up call in the US military, leading to its common use today. Some believe that shine for the soldiers refers to their polishing their boots.

quietly and willingly facing punishment or harm; naively facing sure defeat or destruction
—Like lambs to the slaughter, the basketball players laughed and sang songs on their way to the game, not knowing that the opposing team had not lost in five years.

In his prophecies, Isaiah gave new details about the one who would come to bring salvation to the people. He called him a servant from God who would give the people healing through his suffering:

He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,

crushed because of our sins;

he endured punishment that made us well;

because of his wounds we have been healed.

All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

He was treated harshly and afflicted,

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block [as a lamb to the slaughter],

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth. (Isaiah 53:5-7)

Being a shepherd was a common profession for the Israelites, and the people killed sheep for food, sheared them for their wool, and sacrificed them to God to receive forgiveness for their sins. Of course, the sheep themselves did not understand what would happen to them, so they went to their fates quietly. This is the image that Isaiah used to describe the servant who would come to save the people.

to be in agreement
—I think my husband’s right about most things, but on the subject of raising children, we don’t see eye to eye.

While Isaiah spent much of his time warning the people about the consequences of their disobedience—such as their enemies taking over the Promised Land—he also continued to encourage them with his descriptions of how the Israelites would return from captivity, the nation would be restored, and the people would be saved:

Listen, your watchmen shout;

in unison they shout for joy,

for they see with their very own eyes [see eye to eye]

the Lord’s return to Zion. (Isaiah 52:8)

While today’s eye to eye gives a picture of people seeing things in the same way, Isaiah’s meaning was that when the Israelites returned, the watchmen would see it clearly, with their own eyes.

to straighten up one’s life; to correct one’s affairs; to organize one’s finances
—Before asking anyone to marry you, you’ll need to quit playing around and put your house in order.

When King Hezekiah of Judah became ill, he was visited by Isaiah:

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness [sick unto death—KJV]. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions [set your house in order—KJV], for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” (2 Kings 20:1)

Upon hearing this news, Hezekiah pleaded for his life. The Lord heard his prayers, healed him, and extended his life for another 15 years.

For Hezekiah, house represented his possessions and the royal family. Currently, putting one’s house in order more often refers to the way a person handles his life or how a government or organization handles its internal affairs.

In this verse sick unto death means “deathly ill.” Today we have the phrase sick to death (of), meaning “to be extremely frustrated or bored” about something.

to become settled, established, or accepted
—Once the idea of democracy took root in the country, the people did not rest until they overthrew the dictator.

While most of the kings in Israel and Judah did not follow the ways of God, some of them were godly rulers. One of the best kings of Judah was Hezekiah, who “trusted in the Lord God of Israel.” While Hezekiah was king, the Assyrian army captured Israel and the fortified cities of Judah. The king of Assyria sent a threatening letter to Hezekiah, saying that God could not save Jerusalem from destruction. Isaiah gave Hezekiah God’s reply, in which God promised that he would defeat the Assyrians and restore Judah:

Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground [take root downward—KJV] and bear fruit.

For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;

survivors will come out of Mount Zion.

The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord to his people will accomplish this. (2 Kings 19:30,31)

After an angel from God attacked the Assyrian army, the Assyrians left Judah. Some time later, the king of Assyria was killed by two of his sons.

Mount Zion, or Zion, is the name of the hill on which Jerusalem was built. By the time of Isaiah, the name had come to represnt the entire city. Zion is also used in the Bible to represent the Jewish people.

the entire world; the farthest, most remote parts of the earth
—I will search the four corners of the earth to find the best recipes for the restaurant I’m opening.

Isaiah said that one day the Lord would gather the Israelites from the places to which they had been scattered:

He will lift a signal flag for the nations;

he will gather Israel’s dispersed people

and assemble Judah’s scattered people

from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:12)

The Hebrew word here translated as corner can also mean “extremity, edge, border, or wing.” Later, in the New Testament, the Apostle John reports that in a vision he

saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth so no wind could blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.  (Revelation 7:1)

In this verse, the four corners represent the four directions (north, south, east, and west) from which the wind blows.

enemies will come together in peace
—She has not given up hope that the war in her country will end and her people will have peace. She still believes that the lion will lie down with the lamb.

The prophet Isaiah said that lasting peace would come with the arrival of a special leader, a descendant of David who would restore the nation and judge with righteousness. Even though Isaiah did not specifically mention a lion and lamb lying down together, he did give several examples of natural enemies living side by side:

A wolf will reside with a lamb,

and a leopard will lie down with a young goat;

an ox and a young lion will graze together,

as a small child leads them along [a little child shall lead them—KJV].

A cow and a bear will graze together,

their young will lie down together.

A lion, like an ox, will eat straw.

A baby will play

over the hole of a snake;

over the nest of a serpent

an infant will put his hand.

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain.

For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty,

just as the waters completely cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Now, when people say, “a little child shall (or will) lead them,” they mean that children can teach us all, even adults, and show us how to do the right thing.

to turn from war to peace; to take instruments, technologies, or money used for war and use them to improve living conditions
—Now that the war is over, we’ll turn our bomb factories into car factories, send our soldiers to college, and find other ways to beat our swords into plowshares.

God’s prophets often said God would punish the people if they did not stop sinning. This punishment sometimes came when God allowed the enemies of both Jewish kingdoms to attack and defeat them, scattering the Israelites as captives to foreign countries. But God also told the prophets that someday he would make peace between the Israelites and their enemies. God told the prophet Isaiah that during this time of peace, the Lord himself

will judge disputes between nations;

he will settle cases for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will no longer train for war. (Isaiah 2:4)

A plowshare is the metal blade of a plow, the part that cuts into the soil to prepare it for growing crops.

to get ready for action
—We have spent enough time mourning our losses from the earthquake. Now it’s time to gird our loins and rebuild the city.

Gird means “to tie up, as with a belt,” and loins is used in the Bible for the part of the body around and including the reproductive organs. In Bible times, the Jewish people wore loose-fitting clothing, which they would tie up when working or traveling.

A woman prepared a room for the prophet Elisha to stay in whenever he came to her town, and God rewarded her with the birth of a son. But later, that son became ill and died. After hearing the news, Elisha told his servant to hurry to the boy’s house:

Tuck your robes into your belt [Gird up thy loins—KJV], take my staff, and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! Place my staff on the child’s face. (2 Kings 4:29)

Though Elisha’s staff had no effect, when Elisha arrived he was able to bring the boy back to life.

The “fruit of one’s loins” is “a person’s children or descendents.” During the time recorded in the New Testament, Peter spoke of David being a forefather of the Christ:

So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants [the fruit of his loins—KJV] on his throne. . . . (Acts 2:30)