Isaiah 25
25
Praise for Deliverance from Oppression
1O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you, I will praise your name;
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the palace of aliens is a city no more,
it will never be rebuilt.
3Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4For you have been a refuge to the poor,
a refuge to the needy in their distress,
a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat.
When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
5the noise of aliens like heat in a dry place,
you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds;
the song of the ruthless was stilled.
6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
7And he will destroy on this mountain
the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
8Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9It will be said on that day,
Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
10For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place
as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit.
11Though they spread out their hands in the midst of it,
as swimmers spread out their hands to swim,
their pride will be laid low despite the struggle#25.11 Meaning of Heb uncertain of their hands.
12The high fortifications of his walls will be brought down,
laid low, cast to the ground, even to the dust.
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Isaiah 25: NRSV-CI
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 25
25
1 O Lord, you are my God!#sn The prophet speaks here as one who has observed the coming judgment of the proud.
I will exalt you in praise, I will extol your fame.#tn Heb “name.” See the note at 24:15.
For you have done extraordinary things,
and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed.#tn Heb “plans from long ago [in] faithfulness, trustworthiness.” The feminine noun אֱמוּנָה (’emunah, “faithfulness”) and masculine noun אֹמֶן (’omen, “trustworthiness”), both of which are derived from the root אָמַן (’aman), are juxtaposed to emphasize the basic idea conveyed by the synonyms. Here they describe the absolute reliability of the divine plans.
2 Indeed,#tn Or “For” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). you have made the city#tn The Hebrew text has “you have made from the city.” The prefixed mem (מ) on עִיר (’ir, “city”) was probably originally an enclitic mem suffixed to the preceding verb. See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:456, n. 3. into a heap of rubble,
the fortified town into a heap of ruins;
the fortress of foreigners#tc Some with support from the LXX emend זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) to זֵדִים (zedim, “the insolent”). is no longer a city,
it will never be rebuilt.
3 So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of#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. 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#tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.” is like a winter rainstorm,#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.
5 like heat#tn Or “drought” (TEV). in a dry land,
you humble the boasting foreigners.#tn Heb “the tumult of foreigners.”
Just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside,#tn Heb “[like] heat in the shadow of a cloud.”
so he causes the song of tyrants to cease.#tn The translation assumes that the verb יַעֲנֶה (ya’aneh) is a Hiphil imperfect from עָנָה (’anah, “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, ye’aneh) would yield the same translation.
6 The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain.#sn That is, Mount Zion (see 24:23); cf. TEV; NLT “In Jerusalem.”
At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine –
tender meat and choicest wine.#tn Heb “And the Lord who commands 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.”
7 On this mountain he will swallow up
the shroud that is over all the peoples,#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”).
the woven covering that is over all the nations;#sn The point of the imagery is unclear. Perhaps the shroud/covering referred to was associated with death in some way (see v. 8).
8 he will swallow up death permanently.#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.
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!#tn Heb “has spoken” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
9 At that time they will say,#tn Heb “and one will say in that day.”
“Look, here#tn Heb “this [one].” is our God!
We waited for him and he delivered us.
Here#tn Heb “this [one].” 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.#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.”
Moab will be trampled down where it stands,#tn Heb “under him,” i.e., “in his place.”
as a heap of straw is trampled down in#tc The marginal reading (Qere) is בְּמוֹ (bÿmo, “in”). The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּמִי (bÿmi, “in the water of”). a manure pile.
11 Moab#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. will spread out its hands in the middle of it,#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.
just as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim;
the Lord#tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity. will bring down Moab’s#tn Heb “his”; the referent (Moab) has been specified in the translation for clarity. pride as it spreads its hands.#tn The Hebrew text has, “he will bring down his pride along with the [?] of his hands.” The meaning of אָרְבּוֹת (’arbot), 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 (’arav, “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.
12 The fortified city (along with the very tops of your#sn Moab is addressed. walls)#tn Heb “a fortification, the high point of your walls.” he will knock down,
he will bring it down, he will throw it down to the dusty ground.#tn Heb “he will bring [it] down, he will make [it] touch the ground, even to the dust.”
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