Isaiah / Chapter 25

Isaiah 25

12 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex 2 traditions available

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A psalm of praise for God's faithfulness: the fortified city is ruined, and God prepares a feast for all peoples on His mountain. He swallows up death forever and wipes tears from every face.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

Verse 8 — 'He will swallow up death forever' (billa hammavet lanetsach) — is one of the most consequential sentences in the Hebrew Bible. Paul quotes it in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as fulfilled in resurrection. The image of God wiping tears from every face (v. 8) reappears verbatim in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4. The feast for all peoples (v. 6) is not for Israel alone — the scope is universal.

Translation Friction

The verb billa (v. 8, 'swallowed up') is graphic — death, which has been swallowing humanity, is itself swallowed. We preserved the verb's violence. The phrase lanetsach could mean 'forever' or 'completely' — both senses may be intended. The transition from cosmic praise (vv. 1-5) to the universal feast (vv. 6-8) to Moab's humiliation (vv. 10-12) is jarring; we let the text's own juxtapositions stand.

Connections

The feast on the mountain (v. 6) fulfills the covenant meal of Exodus 24:9-11 on a universal scale. Paul quotes verse 8 in 1 Corinthians 15:54. Revelation 7:17 and 21:4 cite the tears-wiped passage. The fortified city's destruction (v. 2) continues the qiryat-tohu theme from 24:10. **Tradition comparisons:** The Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaiah-a) preserve this chapter with notable variants: Verse 8 — 'He will swallow up death forever' — is the centerpiece. 1QIsaiah-a preserves this reading identically, confirming the antiquity of the resurrection/death-defeat tradition. Verse 6 has a minor variant in the banquet description.. See the [DSS Isaiah comparison](/dss-isaiah/25). Targum Jonathan provides interpretive renderings: Jonathan renders 'swallow up' as 'destroy' (yevatteil), removing the anthropomorphic eating/swallowing metaphor. Paul cites this verse in 1 Corinthians 15:54. The eschatological abolition of death is... See [Targum Jonathan on Isaiah](/targum/isaiah).

Isaiah 25:1

יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהַי֙ אַתָּ֔ה אֲרוֹמִמְךָ֖ אוֹדֶ֣ה שִׁמְךָ֑ כִּ֤י עָשִׂ֙יתָ֙ פֶּ֔לֶא עֵצ֥וֹת מֵרָח֖וֹק אֱמוּנָ֥ה אֹֽמֶן׃

LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things — plans formed long ago, faithful and sure.

KJV O 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

אֱמוּנָה emunah
"faithful" — faithfulness, firmness, reliability, steadfastness, truth

Emunah describes God's unwavering consistency — His plans are not impulsive but grounded in the same character that makes His covenant trustworthy.

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase etsot merachoq ('plans from afar/long ago') affirms that God's judgments are not reactive but planned — the devastation of chapter 24 was the execution of an ancient purpose. The word emunah ('faithfulness') and omen ('sureness, truth') are paired to describe God's plans as both loyal and reliable.
Isaiah 25:2

כִּ֣י שַׂ֤מְתָּ מֵעִיר֙ לַגָּ֔ל קִרְיָ֥ה בְצוּרָ֖ה לְמַפֵּלָ֑ה אַרְמ֤וֹן זָרִים֙ מֵעִ֔יר לְעוֹלָ֖ם לֹ֥א יִבָּנֶֽה׃

For You have turned a city into a heap of stones, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of foreigners into what is no longer a city — it will never be rebuilt.

KJV For 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The unnamed fortified city continues the archetype from 24:10. The progression — city to heap, fortification to ruin, palace to non-city — traces the complete reversal of human building. The phrase le'olam lo yibbaneh ('never to be rebuilt') echoes the permanent destruction of cherem cities.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"stronghold"

Identical consonantal text. God as a stronghold for the poor and needy is described identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 25:3

עַל־כֵּ֖ן יְכַבְּד֣וּךָ עַם־עָ֑ז קִרְיַ֛ת גּוֹיִ֥ם עָרִיצִ֖ים יִירָאֽוּךָ׃

Therefore a fierce people will honor You; a city of ruthless nations will fear You.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'fierce people' (am az) and 'ruthless nations' (goyim aritsim) who now honor and fear God are the very peoples who were instruments of judgment. Even the oppressors recognize God's sovereignty.
Isaiah 25:4

כִּֽי־הָיִ֤יתָ מָעוֹז֙ לַדָּ֔ל מָע֥וֹז לָאֶבְי֖וֹן בַּצַּר־ל֑וֹ מַחְסֶ֤ה מִזֶּ֙רֶם֙ צֵ֣ל מֵחֹ֔רֶב כִּ֛י ר֥וּחַ עָרִיצִ֖ים כְּזֶ֥רֶם קִֽיר׃

For You have been a fortress for the poor, a fortress for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat — for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.

KJV 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, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. God is described with four protection metaphors: fortress (ma'oz, twice), shelter (machseh), shade (tsel). These are physical, tangible images — the God who devastates cities (v. 2) is simultaneously the refuge of the vulnerable. The breath (ruach) of the ruthless is compared to a zerem qir ('storm against a wall') — relentless, battering force.
Isaiah 25:5

כְּחֹ֣רֶב בְּצָי֔וֹן שְׁא֥וֹן זָרִ֖ים תַּכְנִ֑יעַ חֹ֚רֶב בְּצֵ֣ל עָ֔ב זָמִ֖יר עָרִיצִ֥ים יַעֲנֶֽה׃

As heat in a parched land, You subdue the tumult of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

KJV Thou 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The metaphor shifts from storm to desert heat: God suppresses the noise (she'on) of foreigners as a cloud's shadow cuts the heat. The word zamir (v. 5b) can mean 'song' or 'pruning' — we chose 'song' to parallel the tumult/noise theme, with the ruthless ones' triumphant singing silenced.
Isaiah 25:6

וְעָשָׂה֩ יְהוָ֨ה צְבָא֜וֹת לְכׇל־הָֽעַמִּים֙ בָּהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה מִשְׁתֵּ֥ה שְׁמָנִ֖ים מִשְׁתֵּ֣ה שְׁמָרִ֑ים שְׁמָנִ֥ים מְמֻחָיִ֖ם שְׁמָרִ֥ים מְזֻקָּקִֽים׃

On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of aged wine — rich food full of marrow, aged wine well refined.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The feast is for kol-ha'ammim ('all peoples') — not Israel alone. This is one of the Hebrew Bible's most universalist visions. The food is described with extravagant abundance: shemanim ('rich/fatty foods'), shemarim ('aged wines settled on their lees'). The doubled description (rich food / rich food full of marrow, aged wine / aged wine well refined) conveys lavish generosity.
  2. The mountain is Mount Zion — God's feast is located at the center of Israel's worship but open to all nations. This universalizing of the Sinai covenant meal (Exodus 24:9-11) is theologically revolutionary.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"rich foods"

1QIsaiah-a writes שמנים identically in consonantal form. The eschatological banquet — 'a feast of rich foods, a feast of aged wines' — is preserved in both traditions. The doubled description (shemanim/shemarim, rich foods/aged wines) emphasizes abundance. This is the foundational text for the messianic banquet tradition in Judaism and Christianity.

Isaiah 25:7

וּבִלַּע֙ בָּהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה פְּנֵֽי־הַלּ֥וֹט ׀ הַלּ֖וֹט עַל־כׇּל־הָעַמִּ֑ים וְהַמַּסֵּכָ֥ה הַנְּסוּכָ֖ה עַל־כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃

On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that covers all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'shroud' (hallot) and 'veil' (massekah) covering all peoples likely refers to death's pall — the universal shadow of mortality that hangs over every nation. God removes the covering that separates humanity from His presence. The verb billa ('swallow up') anticipates verse 8's climactic statement.
Isaiah 25:8

בִּלַּ֤ע הַמָּ֙וֶת֙ לָנֶ֔צַח וּמָחָ֨ה אֲדֹנָ֧י יְהוִ֛ה דִּמְעָ֖ה מֵעַ֣ל כׇּל־פָּנִ֑ים וְחֶרְפַּ֣ת עַמּ֗וֹ יָסִיר֙ מֵעַ֣ל כׇּל־הָאָ֔רֶץ כִּ֥י יְהוָ֖ה דִּבֵּֽר׃

He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from every face, and the disgrace of His people He will remove from all the earth — for the LORD has spoken.

KJV He 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

הַמָּוֶת hammavet
"death" — death, the realm of the dead, mortality

Death here is not just biological cessation but the cosmic power that oppresses all humanity — the enemy that God Himself must defeat.

Translator Notes

  1. The verb billa ('swallowed up') is the same verb used in v. 7 for the shroud — God swallows up both the covering of death and death itself. Death is personified as something that can be consumed.
  2. The phrase lanetsach can mean 'forever' (temporal) or 'completely' (intensive). Both senses apply: death's defeat is both permanent and total.
  3. The wiping of tears (machah dim'ah) uses the same verb as wiping out a name or a stain — the removal is thorough. This image appears in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4.
  4. 'The LORD has spoken' (YHWH dibber) seals the promise with divine authority — the same formula that sealed the judgment in 24:3.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)theological

"He will swallow up death forever"

This verse is one of the most theologically consequential in the Hebrew Bible. 1QIsaiah-a reads בלע המות לנצח — identical to the MT: 'He will swallow up death forever (la-netsach).' The verb billa' ('swallow up') reverses the image of death as a devouring monster — now death itself is devoured. Paul quotes this in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection. The continuation — 'and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces' — is also identical in both traditions. The DSS confirm that this death-defeat theology was present in the pre-Christian text, not a later interpolation.

Targum Jonathan (Aramaic, 1st-5th c. CE)eschatological

"He will destroy death forever."

Jonathan renders 'swallow up' as 'destroy' (yevatteil), removing the anthropomorphic eating/swallowing metaphor. Paul cites this verse in 1 Corinthians 15:54. The eschatological abolition of death is unambiguous.

Isaiah 25:9

וְאָמַר֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא הִנֵּ֨ה אֱלֹהֵ֥ינוּ זֶ֛ה קִוִּ֥ינוּ ל֖וֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵ֑נוּ זֶ֤ה יְהוָה֙ קִוִּ֣ינוּ ל֔וֹ נָגִ֥ילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָ֖ה בִּישׁוּעָתֽוֹ׃

On that day it will be said: "Look — this is our God! We waited for Him, and He saved us. This is the LORD; we waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation!"

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

יְשׁוּעָה yeshu'ah
"salvation" — salvation, deliverance, rescue, victory

The root y-sh-a ('to save, deliver') is one of the Hebrew Bible's central theological concepts. It provides the names Joshua (Yehoshua) and Jesus (Yeshua). Here the salvation is cosmic — the defeat of death itself.

Translator Notes

  1. The double identification — 'this is our God... this is the LORD' — is the climax of recognition. The verb qivvinu ('we waited, we hoped') appears twice, emphasizing patient expectation now vindicated. The word yeshu'ah ('salvation') shares the root of Joshua/Jesus (y-sh-a).
Isaiah 25:10

כִּֽי־תָנ֥וּחַ יַד־יְהוָ֖ה בָּהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וְנָ֤דוּשׁ מוֹאָב֙ תַּחְתָּ֔יו כְּהִדּ֥וּשׁ מַתְבֵּ֖ן בְּמֵ֥י מַדְמֵנָֽה׃

For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trampled in a dung pit.

KJV For 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The shift from universal feast to Moab's humiliation is jarring — but the juxtaposition is deliberate: the same mountain that hosts salvation also hosts judgment. Moab represents those who oppose God's purposes. The madmenah ('dung pit') image is deliberately degrading — Moab's pride (v. 11) meets the lowest possible end.

Dead Sea Scrolls (1QIsaᵃ, 125 BCE)minor

"mountain"

Identical consonantal text. The 'hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain' — Zion as the place of divine presence — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.

Isaiah 25:11

וּפֵרַ֤שׂ יָדָיו֙ בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר יְפָרֵ֥שׂ הַשֹּׂחֶ֖ה לִשְׂח֑וֹת וְהִשְׁפִּיל֙ גַּאֲוָת֔וֹ עִ֖ם אׇרְבּ֥וֹת יָדָֽיו׃

Moab will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim, but God will bring down his pride along with the skill of his hands.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The swimming metaphor is bizarre and vivid — Moab flailing in the dung pit like a swimmer, unable to gain purchase. The word ga'avah ('pride') is Moab's defining characteristic in Isaiah (16:6) and its undoing.
Isaiah 25:12

וּמִבְצַ֞ר מִשְׂגַּ֣ב חוֹמֹתֶ֗יךָ הֵשַׁ֥ח הִשְׁפִּ֛יל הִגִּ֥יעַ לָאָ֖רֶץ עַד־עָפָֽר׃

The high fortification of your walls He has brought down, laid low, cast to the ground — to the dust.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. Three verbs of descent — heshach ('brought down'), hishpil ('laid low'), higgia ('cast to') — track the fortress from height to ground to dust. The trajectory of human pride always ends in afar ('dust'), the substance from which humanity was formed (Genesis 2:7).
Chapter 24 Report an error Isaiah index Chapter 26