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The Prophets · Old Testament

Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25: praise for the ruined city and the feast on the mountain

General context

The chapter is a song of praise addressed to the Lord. The speaker calls the Lord my God and vows to exalt and praise him for wonderful things and for counsels of old that are faithfulness and truth. The Lord has made a city a heap and a defenced city a ruin, a palace of strangers that will never be rebuilt, so the strong people will glorify him and the city of the terrible nations will fear him. He has been a strength to the poor and needy, a refuge from storm and a shadow from heat, and he will bring down the noise of strangers as heat is brought down by the shadow of a cloud. In this mountain the Lord of hosts will make a feast for all people, of fat things and wines on the lees. He will destroy the covering cast over all people and the veil over all nations; he will swallow up death in victory, wipe away tears from all faces, and take away the rebuke of his people from all the earth. In that day it will be said, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us. The hand of the Lord will rest in this mountain, and Moab will be trodden down like straw for the dunghill. He will spread out his hands in the midst of them like a swimmer and bring down their pride with the spoils of their hands, and the high fort of the walls will be brought to the dust.

Cited passages: Isaiah 25:1, Isaiah 25:2, Isaiah 25:3, Isaiah 25:4, Isaiah 25:5, Isaiah 25:6, Isaiah 25:7, Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 25:9, Isaiah 25:10, Isaiah 25:11, Isaiah 25:12

Isaiah 25 (KJV)

1O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

2For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

3Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

4For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

6And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

9And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

11And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.

12And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The speaker of the song is a single voice, saying my God and I will exalt thee, and the text does not name that speaker. The ruined city of verse 2 is called a defenced city and a palace of strangers, but it is not named; the only nation named in the chapter is Moab, which is trodden down in verses 10 to 12. The mountain is called this mountain three times and is not named here, though the previous verse, 24:23, has just spoken of mount Zion and Jerusalem. The feast is made unto all people, and the covering and veil are removed from all nations, so the scope is wider than Israel while the rebuke taken away belongs to his people. Verse 9 is spoken by a group, our God and we have waited, in that day, distinct from the single voice that opens the chapter. A later New Testament citation quotes verse 8: 1 Corinthians 15:54 reads, So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. The chapter gives no date and names no king or enemy other than Moab.

Cited passages: Isaiah 25:1, Isaiah 25:2, Isaiah 25:10, Isaiah 25:6, Isaiah 24:23, Isaiah 25:7, Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 25:9, 1 Corinthians 15:54

Literary context

The chapter moves from a single voice of praise to a shared confession and then to judgment on Moab. Praise in verses 1 to 5 rests on what the Lord has done: a city made a heap, and shelter given to the poor. Two images of shelter, refuge from storm and shadow from heat, are then turned around in verse 5 so that the same shadow of a cloud silences strangers. Verses 6 to 8 pile up the phrase in this mountain and the word all: all people, all nations, all faces, all the earth, and the feast of fat things and wine answers the mourning wine and vine of chapter 24. Verse 9 repeats we have waited for him twice, giving the response of those who receive the salvation. The chapter does not end at the feast; it closes with Moab pressed into the dunghill and the walls brought to dust, so the same hand that rests on the mountain also treads down. The song of chapter 26 continues this movement, opening with a strong city set against the lofty city laid low.

Cited passages: Isaiah 25:1, Isaiah 25:2, Isaiah 25:4, Isaiah 25:5, Isaiah 25:6, Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 24:7, Isaiah 25:9, Isaiah 25:10, Isaiah 25:12, Isaiah 26:1

Key moments

  1. A vow of praise (Isaiah 25:1). The speaker calls the Lord my God and vows to exalt him for wonderful things.
  2. The city made a heap (Isaiah 25:2). A defenced city and palace of strangers is ruined, never to be built.
  3. Strength to the poor (Isaiah 25:4). The Lord is refuge from storm and shadow from heat for the needy.
  4. A feast for all people (Isaiah 25:6). The Lord of hosts prepares fat things and refined wines in this mountain.
  5. Death swallowed up (Isaiah 25:8). The Lord swallows death in victory and wipes tears from all faces.
  6. We have waited for him (Isaiah 25:9). A shared voice names the Lord as the God they waited for.
  7. Moab trodden down (Isaiah 25:10). Moab is pressed down like straw as the Lord's hand rests on the mountain.

For reflection

The same chapter promises a feast for all people and tears wiped from all faces, then describes Moab trodden down like straw. How does a reader hold together the width of the feast and the narrowness of the judgment that follows it?