Isaiah — Chapter 25

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1O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness.

2Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.

3Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

4For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,

5like heat in a dry land. You subdue the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

6On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.

7On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;

8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.

9And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

10For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.

11He will spread out his hands within it, as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim. His pride will be brought low, despite the skill of his hands.

12The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.

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.

1O Jehovah, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, [even] counsels of old, in faithfulness [and] truth.

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

3Therefore shall a strong people glorify thee; a city of terrible nations shall fear thee.

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

5As the heat in a dry place wilt thou bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

6And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples 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 that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

8He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah 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 Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of the dung-hill.

11And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth [his hands] to swim; but [Jehovah] will lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands.

12And the high fortress of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.

1O Lord, you are my God! I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame. For you have done extraordinary things, and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.

2Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town into a heap of ruins; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city, it will never be rebuilt.

3So a strong nation will extol you; the towns of powerful nations will fear you.

4For you are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat. Though the breath of tyrants is like a winter rainstorm,

5like heat in a dry land, you humble the boasting foreigners. Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.

6The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine— tender meat and choicest wine.

7On this mountain he will swallow up the shroud that is over all the peoples, the woven covering that is over all the nations;

8he will swallow up death permanently. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face, and remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

9At that time they will say, “Look, here is our God! We waited for him, and he delivered us. Here is the Lord! We waited for him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”

10For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure. Moab will be trampled down where it stands, as a heap of straw is trampled down in a manure pile.

11Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim; the Lord will bring down Moab’s pride as it spreads its hands.

12The fortified city (along with the very tops of your walls) he will knock down, he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.

1Yahweh, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.

2For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It will never be built.

3Therefore a strong people will glorify you. A city of awesome nations will fear you.

4For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.

5As the heat in a dry place will you bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the dreaded ones will be brought low.

6In this mountain, Yahweh of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.

7He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.

8He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it.

9It shall be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God! We have waited for him, and he will save us! This is Yahweh! We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”

10For in this mountain Yahweh’s hand will rest. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.

11He will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands.

12He has brought the high fortress of your walls down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

Following the devastation of chapter 24, Isaiah bursts into praise, thanking God for turning a fortified enemy city into a ruin while proving to be a refuge and strength for the poor and needy caught in the storm (vv. 1-5). He then describes a lavish feast of rich food and fine wine that the LORD will prepare on his mountain for all peoples, not Israel alone (v. 6). At that feast God will remove the veil of death that covers every nation, swallow up death itself forever, and personally wipe away every tear (vv. 7-8). The chapter ends with people declaring that this is the God they waited for, alongside a warning that Moab, standing in for all proud opposition to God, will be trampled down like straw in a dunghill (vv. 9-12).

Authorship & Background

Author: Isaiah son of Amoz (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Classification: Apocalyptic Hymn of Praise (Isaiah Apocalypse, chs. 24-27)
Key Themes: Praise for God's faithfulness, the destruction of the proud city, God as shelter for the poor, the messianic banquet for all peoples, the destruction of death, tears wiped away, Moab's pride crushed
Historical Context: Chapter 25 is the praise response to chapter 24's judgment. After universal devastation, the faithful remnant sings. This chapter contains some of the most forward-looking promises in the Old Testament — particularly the destruction of death (v.8) and the wiping away of tears, both quoted in Revelation. The "fortified city" brought low (v.2) is unnamed — it represents all proud human civilization that exalts itself against God (Babylon, Tyre, any future equivalent). The feast on the mountain (vv.6-8) is one of Scripture's grandest images of final redemption.
O LORD, Thou Art My God (vv.1-5): The oracle stops and becomes a psalm, O LORD, thou art my God, I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name. What is praised is planning rather than power, for thou hast done wonderful things, thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. Then the reason given, and it is put in terms of who benefits, for 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. And the image the section closes on is a working one from that climate, the blast of the terrible ones is as the heat in a dry place, and heat is brought down with the shadow of a cloud.
The Feast on the Mountain (vv.6-8): And 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. The guest list is the striking part, all people, in a book that has spent twelve chapters on the failings of the nations. Then the covering removed, and he will destroy the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. And then verse 8, which is one of the two clearest resurrection statements in the Old Testament outside Daniel: he will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. Paul quotes it in 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21 takes up the wiping away of tears.
This Is Our God, We Have Waited for Him (v.9): One verse, and it is what the people say at the feast rather than what is said to them. And 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. The verb waited appears twice in one sentence, which is the whole content of it: the response to the arrival is a claim about how long they had expected it.
Moab Trodden Down (vv.10-12): The chapter does not end on the feast. And Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill, and he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim. A man flailing in a midden is a deliberately undignified picture, and it is placed three verses after a banquet for all people. The two sit side by side without being reconciled, which is characteristic of this book, and the fortifications are the last thing named, the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down.

Map & Geography

  • Moab (v.10): Land east of the Dead Sea; often in conflict with Israel.

Places on this map

  • Moabwest-central JordanThe plateau east of the Dead Sea, cut off from Israel by the rift valley and from Ammon by the Arnon gorge. High enough to farm grain, which is why Naomi's family went there in a famine. Wikipedia
  • Dead SeaIsrael / JordanThe lowest exposed ground on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level, and roughly ten times saltier than the ocean because water leaves only by evaporation. Nothing lives in it, which is the image Ezekiel 47 overturns when he has it filled with fish. Wikipedia

Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Isaiah 25 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
2BeLikeChrist

Isaiah 24-27 | The King's Judgment | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

A Refuge from the Storm - Isaiah 25:1, 4-5
David Guzik

Articles

  • BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: the promised king who runs through Isaiah from beginning to end.
  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Isaiah -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Plans Made Long Ago (v.1) — Isaiah praises God for carrying out plans formed in perfect faithfulness far in advance, not improvised in the moment. Can you trust that what God is doing in your life now was already planned with your good in mind?
  • A Feast for Every Nation (v.6) — God prepares a rich banquet on His mountain for all peoples, not a select few. Do you view God's invitation as open to everyone, or do you quietly limit who belongs at His table?
  • Death Swallowed, Tears Wiped Personally (v.8) — God doesn't just hold death back — He swallows it completely, and wipes every tear from every face Himself. Does the promise that your greatest fear is already defeated change how you carry today's smaller worries?
  • The Long Wait Rewarded (v.9) — The redeemed finally say this is our God, we have waited for him, after what was clearly a long and uncertain wait. What are you still waiting on God for, and how are you waiting while you wait?
  • Pride Brought to the Dust (vv.10-12) — Moab's pride, strength, and fortified walls are all leveled to nothing before God's power. What strength or defense are you leaning on that only God can ultimately bring down?