Isaiah 25
1 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.
2 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.
3 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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.
Isaiah 25 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Isaiah 25 answers the worldwide shaking of Isaiah 24 with worship. The prophet does not praise God because judgment is pleasant, but because the Lord has acted faithfully, overthrown oppressive power, sheltered the vulnerable, and prepared a future in which death itself is defeated. Ruin is not the chapter’s final scene; God’s saving reign is.
The song moves from personal confession to worldwide hope. Isaiah begins, “O Lord, thou art my God,” yet the feast is prepared “unto all people,” the covering lies over “all nations,” and tears are wiped from “all faces.” Genuine faith is personal without becoming private. The God Isaiah claims as his own reveals salvation broad enough for the nations.
The chapter has four movements: praise for God’s faithful plans, thanksgiving for refuge from ruthless powers, a banquet on Mount Zion, and the humiliation of Moab’s pride. Together they show that salvation includes both deliverance from enemies and the removal of humanity’s deepest enemy. God brings down the proud city so that the redeemed may rejoice in his presence.
Key Themes
Isaiah praises God for “wonderful things” whose “counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” God’s saving acts are not improvised reactions to events he failed to anticipate. What appears sudden within history fulfills purposes long established in his wisdom. The believer’s confidence rests not only on God’s power, but also on the reliability of his character and plans.
Verse 2 describes an unnamed fortified city reduced to a heap. It recalls the “city of confusion” in the previous chapter and represents organized human pride that appears permanent until God judges it. Isaiah does not require readers to identify one city with certainty. The image can embrace every political and cultural center that makes oppression its security and treats God as irrelevant.
God is “a strength to the poor” and “a refuge from the storm.” Scripture does not romanticize poverty or distress, but it repeatedly reveals the Lord’s concern for those crushed by forces greater than themselves. The same God who pulls down a fortified city becomes a secure place for people who possess no fortress of their own.
The storm and desert-heat pictures describe the pressure of ruthless rulers. Their violence beats like rain driven against a wall, and their oppression exhausts like heat in a dry land. God does not merely help the needy endure forever; he interrupts the threat. A cloud’s shadow can suddenly cool unbearable heat, just as the Lord can silence powers that seem relentless.
The KJV says “the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low” in verse 5. The underlying word is often rendered “song,” so the line pictures the triumphant noise or boasting of tyrants being silenced. Either way, their flourishing confidence ends. God lowers not only violent actions but also the proud celebration that treats domination as glory.
Verse 6 changes the scene from ruined city to abundant table. The Lord himself is the host, Mount Zion is the setting, and “all people” are invited to rich food and well-refined wine. The banquet portrays more than bare survival. God’s salvation brings fellowship, satisfaction, celebration, and restored community under his generous rule.
The feast develops Isaiah’s earlier vision of the nations streaming to the Lord’s mountain in Isaiah 2. Zion is not celebrated as a monument to human greatness, but as the place where God teaches, reigns, protects, and welcomes. Jesus likewise used banquet imagery for God’s kingdom in Luke 14, where invited guests are called to respond humbly.
The covering and veil in verse 7 lie over every people and nation. Verse 8 explains the image by announcing the defeat of death. Humanity lives under a universal shadow: mortality, grief, separation, and the fear that every earthly joy will end. God does not merely decorate life beneath that veil; he removes the covering itself.
“He will swallow up death in victory” is one of the Old Testament’s clearest statements of resurrection hope. The Hebrew expression can carry the sense of swallowing death forever, while the KJV emphasizes victory. Both ideas meet in 1 Corinthians 15, where Paul applies this promise to the resurrection secured through Jesus Christ.
God also “will wipe away tears from off all faces.” Salvation is tender as well as triumphant. The Lord does not treat human sorrow as an insignificant detail after defeating death; he personally removes its evidence. Revelation 21 echoes Isaiah when it describes the renewed creation, where death, sorrow, crying, and pain are no more.
The “rebuke,” or reproach, of God’s people will be removed from all the earth. Faithful people may be mocked, displaced, or treated as though trust in God were foolish. The final verdict reverses that shame. God publicly vindicates those who waited for him, not because they were flawless, but because his promised salvation proves faithful.
Verse 9 gives the redeemed their confession: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him.” Waiting is not passive indifference. It is sustained trust when fulfillment is delayed and circumstances seem to contradict the promise. Their joy is intensified because the Savior they long trusted is now openly recognized: “This is the Lord.”
The hand of the Lord “rests” on this mountain in verse 10. His settled presence means protection and blessing for Zion, but the same divine rule brings Moab low. Salvation cannot be separated from judgment on unrepentant pride. A kingdom safe for the oppressed must finally restrain powers that refuse justice and exalt themselves against God.
Moab is named after receiving lengthy attention in Isaiah 15 and Isaiah 16. Those chapters showed both compassion for Moab’s suffering and condemnation of its excessive pride. Here Moab functions as a concrete enemy, not merely an abstract symbol. God’s universal feast does not mean that proud resistance is ignored; enemies must be humbled or reconciled.
Verse 11 pictures Moab spreading out its hands like a swimmer. The movement suggests desperate self-rescue, yet its skill cannot overcome God’s judgment. The KJV refers to “the spoils of their hands,” while other translations speak of skill or cleverness. The central point remains: human resourcefulness cannot preserve pride when God brings it low.
Important Verses and Questions
What city is destroyed in Isaiah 25:2? Isaiah does not name it. Babylon or another historical center of oppression may stand behind the picture, but its anonymity broadens the meaning. It represents the proud, fortified city of humanity that appears secure while opposing God. The emphasis falls on the Lord’s victory, not on solving a geographical puzzle.
Is the feast in verse 6 literal or symbolic? It is poetic kingdom imagery with real substance behind it. Food and wine communicate abundance, fellowship, and joy in God’s presence. The promise can include restored creation and actual celebration, but its meaning is larger than a menu: the Lord fully satisfies and unites redeemed people from every nation.
What is the veil spread over all nations? The following verse points primarily to death and the sorrow attached to mortality. It may also include spiritual darkness and grief, but Isaiah’s own explanation should control the interpretation. God removes the universal covering by swallowing death and wiping away tears.
Why does the KJV say death is swallowed “in victory”? The Hebrew phrase is commonly translated “forever,” while the Greek Old Testament and Paul’s quotation support the language of victory. The ideas reinforce each other: death is permanently defeated. Christ’s resurrection begins that victory, and the resurrection of his people brings it to completion.
What does it mean to wait for the Lord? Waiting combines hope, loyalty, prayer, and obedience during delay. It does not set deadlines for God or retreat from responsibility. The people in verse 9 continue identifying the Lord as their God before salvation becomes visible, and their final joy confirms that such trust was not misplaced.
Why is Moab judged after a feast for all peoples? “All peoples” announces the international reach of God’s salvation, not automatic approval of every response to him. Moab’s pride must be humbled. Individuals from any nation may come to God’s feast, but no nation or person enters the kingdom while insisting that arrogant self-rule remain untouched.
Has Isaiah 25 already been fulfilled? Its fulfillment has begun through Christ, whose resurrection guarantees death’s defeat and opens God’s kingdom to the nations. Yet tears, graves, oppression, and pride remain. The complete promise awaits resurrection and renewed creation. Isaiah 26 continues this hope with peace, trust, and the awakening of the dead.
Practical Applications
Praise God from remembered truth, not changing mood alone. Isaiah worships because God’s ancient counsels have proved faithful. When circumstances are confusing, believers can recall his character, fulfilled promises, Christ’s resurrection, and past mercies. Praise becomes a disciplined confession that God remains trustworthy before every part of his plan is visible.
Become a refuge for vulnerable people because God is their refuge. Churches and individual Christians should not admire power while overlooking those battered by economic pressure, abuse, displacement, loneliness, or grief. Protection, practical aid, patient listening, and truthful advocacy reflect the character of the Lord described in verses 4–5.
Learn to wait without surrendering hope. Isaiah’s people can say both “we have waited” and “we will be glad.” Delayed answers do not make faith meaningless. Continue praying, obeying, serving, and refusing dishonest shortcuts while trusting that God’s timing is governed by the same faithfulness celebrated at the beginning of the chapter.
Let resurrection hope address real grief. Christianity does not ask mourners to pretend tears do not matter. Isaiah promises that God will wipe them away because death will actually be overcome. Comfort should therefore combine honest lament with confidence that, in Christ, loss does not possess the final word and embodied life will be restored.
Reject the fortresses of pride. Moab’s walls, skill, and desperate efforts cannot save it. Personal achievement, national strength, wealth, intelligence, and religious reputation become dangerous when used to resist dependence on God. The proper response to Isaiah 25 is humble trust: receive the feast as grace, rejoice in God’s salvation, and give him the glory.