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Isaiah 25

Isaiah 24Isaiah 26

Isaiah 25 New English Translation (NET Bible)

25 O Lord, you are my God![a]
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame.[b]
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.[c]
2 Indeed,[d] you have made the city[e] into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners[f] is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of[g] powerful nations will fear you.
4 For 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[h] is like a winter rainstorm,[i]
5 like heat[j] in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners.[k]
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside,[l]
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.[m]
6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain.[n]
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine—
tender meat and choicest wine.[o]
7 On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples,[p]
the woven covering that is over all the nations;[q]
8 he will swallow up death permanently.[r]
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![s]
9 At that time they will say,[t]
“Look, here[u] is our God!
We waited for him, and he delivered us.
Here[v] is the Lord! We waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and celebrate his deliverance!”
10 For the Lord’s power will make this mountain secure.[w]
Moab will be trampled down where it stands,[x]
as a heap of straw is trampled down in[y] a manure pile.
11 Moab[z] will spread out its hands in the middle of it,[aa]
just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim;
the Lord[ab] will bring down Moab’s[ac] pride as it spreads its hands.[ad]
12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your[ae] walls)[af] he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.[ag]

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 25:1 sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
  2. Isaiah 25:1 tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
  3. Isaiah 25:1 tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (ʾemunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (ʾomen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (ʾaman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
  4. Isaiah 25:2 tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).
  5. Isaiah 25:2 tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (ʿir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3.
  6. Isaiah 25:2 tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”).
  7. Isaiah 25:3 tn The Hebrew text has a singular form, but it should be emended to a plural or eliminated altogether. The noun may have been accidentally copied from the preceding verse.
  8. Isaiah 25:4 tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”
  9. Isaiah 25:4 tc The Hebrew text has, “like a rainstorm of a wall,” which might be interpreted to mean, “like a rainstorm battering against a wall.” The translation assumes an emendation of קִיר (qir, “wall”) to קֹר (qor, “cold, winter”; cf. Gen 8:22). See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:457, n. 6, for discussion.
  10. Isaiah 25:5 tn Or “drought” (TEV).
  11. Isaiah 25:5 tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”
  12. Isaiah 25:5 tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”
  13. Isaiah 25:5 tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (yaʿaneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (ʿanah, “be afflicted, humiliated”). In this context with “song” as object it means to “quiet” (see HALOT 853-54 s.v. II ענה). Some prefer to emend the form to the second person singular, so that it will agree with the second person verb earlier in the verse. BDB 776 s.v. III עָנָה Qal.1 understands the form as Qal, with “song” as subject, in which case one might translate “the song of tyrants will be silent.” An emendation of the form to a Niphal (יֵעָנֶה, yeʿaneh) would yield the same translation.
  14. Isaiah 25:6 sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”
  15. Isaiah 25:6 tn Heb “And the Lord of Heaven’s Armies [traditionally, “the Lord of hosts”] will make for all the nations on this mountain a banquet of meats, a banquet of wine dregs, meats filled with marrow, dregs that are filtered.”
  16. Isaiah 25:7 tn The Hebrew text reads, “the face of the shroud, the shroud over all the nations.” Some emend the second הַלּוֹט (hallot) to a passive participle הַלּוּט (hallut, “that is wrapped”).
  17. Isaiah 25:7 sn The point of the imagery is unclear. Perhaps the shroud/covering referred to was associated with death in some way (see v. 8).
  18. Isaiah 25:8 sn The image of the Lord “swallowing” death would be especially powerful, for death was viewed in Canaanite mythology and culture as a hungry enemy that swallows its victims. See the note at 5:14.
  19. Isaiah 25:8 tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
  20. Isaiah 25:9 tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
  21. Isaiah 25:9 tn Heb “this [one].”
  22. Isaiah 25:9 tn Heb “this [one].”
  23. Isaiah 25:10 tn Heb “for the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain”; TEV “will protect Mount Zion”; NCV “will protect (rest on NLT) Jerusalem.”
  24. Isaiah 25:10 tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”
  25. Isaiah 25:10 tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bemo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bemi, “in the water of”).
  26. Isaiah 25:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. Isaiah 25:11 tn The antecedent of the third masculine singular pronominal suffix is probably the masculine noun מַתְבֵּן (matben, “heap of straw”) in v. 10 rather than the feminine noun מַדְמֵנָה (madmenah, “manure pile”), also in v. 10.
  28. Isaiah 25:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  29. Isaiah 25:11 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  30. Isaiah 25:11 tn The Hebrew text has, “he will bring down his pride along with the [?] of his hands.” The meaning of אָרְבּוֹת (ʾarbot), which occurs only here in the OT, is unknown. Some (see BDB 70 s.v. אָרְבָּה) translate “artifice, cleverness,” relating the form to the verbal root אָרָב (ʾarav, “to lie in wait, ambush”), but this requires some convoluted semantic reasoning. HALOT 83 s.v. *אָרְבָּה suggests the meaning “[nimble] movements.” The translation above, which attempts to relate the form to the preceding context, is purely speculative.
  31. Isaiah 25:12 sn Moab is addressed.
  32. Isaiah 25:12 tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.”
  33. Isaiah 25:12 tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”
New English Translation (NET)

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Isaiah 25 New International Version (NIV)

Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;
    I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
    you have done wonderful things,
    things planned long ago.
2 You have made the city a heap of rubble,
    the fortified town a ruin,
the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will honor you;
    cities of ruthless nations will revere you.
4 You have been a refuge for the poor,
    a refuge for the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the storm
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless
    is like a storm driving against a wall
5     and like the heat of the desert.
You silence the uproar of foreigners;
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless is stilled.

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
8     he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
    from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
    from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.

9 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
    we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;
    but Moab will be trampled in their land
    as straw is trampled down in the manure.
11 They will stretch out their hands in it,
    as swimmers stretch out their hands to swim.
God will bring down their pride
    despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls
    and lay them low;
he will bring them down to the ground,
    to the very dust.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 25:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
New International Version (NIV)

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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
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