Praise to the Lord

25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
    I will exalt you and praise your name,(B)
for in perfect faithfulness(C)
    you have done wonderful things,(D)
    things planned(E) long ago.
You have made the city a heap of rubble,(F)
    the fortified(G) town a ruin,(H)
the foreigners’ stronghold(I) a city no more;
    it will never be rebuilt.(J)
Therefore strong peoples will honor you;(K)
    cities of ruthless(L) nations will revere you.
You have been a refuge(M) for the poor,(N)
    a refuge for the needy(O) in their distress,
a shelter from the storm(P)
    and a shade from the heat.
For the breath of the ruthless(Q)
    is like a storm driving against a wall
    and like the heat of the desert.
You silence(R) the uproar of foreigners;(S)
    as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud,
    so the song of the ruthless(T) is stilled.

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

In that day(AD) they will say,

“Surely this is our God;(AE)
    we trusted(AF) in him, and he saved(AG) us.
This is the Lord, we trusted in him;
    let us rejoice(AH) and be glad in his salvation.”(AI)

10 The hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain;(AJ)
    but Moab(AK) 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(AL) their pride(AM)
    despite the cleverness[a] of their hands.
12 He will bring down your high fortified walls(AN)
    and lay them low;(AO)
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.

God’s Hand Rests on This Mountain

25 1-5 God, you are my God.
    I celebrate you. I praise you.
You’ve done your share of miracle-wonders,
    well-thought-out plans, solid and sure.
Here you’ve reduced the city to rubble,
    the strong city to a pile of stones.
The enemy Big City is a non-city,
    never to be a city again.
Superpowers will see it and honor you,
    brutal oppressors bow in worshipful reverence.
They’ll see that you take care of the poor,
    that you take care of poor people in trouble,
Provide a warm, dry place in bad weather,
    provide a cool place when it’s hot.
Brutal oppressors are like a winter blizzard
    and vicious foreigners like high noon in the desert.
But you, shelter from the storm and shade from the sun,
    shut the mouths of the big-mouthed bullies.

6-8 But here on this mountain, God-of-the-Angel-Armies
    will throw a feast for all the people of the world,
A feast of the finest foods, a feast with vintage wines,
    a feast of seven courses, a feast lavish with gourmet desserts.
And here on this mountain, God will banish
    the pall of doom hanging over all peoples,
The shadow of doom darkening all nations.
    Yes, he’ll banish death forever.
And God will wipe the tears from every face.
    He’ll remove every sign of disgrace
From his people, wherever they are.
    Yes! God says so!

9-10 Also at that time, people will say,
    “Look at what’s happened! This is our God!
We waited for him and he showed up and saved us!
    This God, the one we waited for!
Let’s celebrate, sing the joys of his salvation.
    God’s hand rests on this mountain!”

10-12 As for the Moabites, they’ll be treated like trash,
    waste shoveled into a cesspool.
Thrash away as they will,
    like swimmers trying to stay afloat,
They’ll sink in the sewage.
    Their pride will pull them under.
Their famous fortifications will crumble to nothing,
    those mighty walls reduced to dust.

Song of Praise for God’s Favor

25 Lord, You are (A)my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have (B)worked wonders,
(C)Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
For You have turned a city into a (D)heap,
A (E)fortified city into a ruin;
A (F)palace of strangers is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore a strong people will (G)glorify You;
(H)Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
For You have been a (I)stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A (J)refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the (K)ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the (L)uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is [a]silenced.

(M)Now the Lord of armies will prepare a [b]lavish banquet for (N)all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of [c]aged wine, [d]choice pieces with marrow,
And [e]refined, aged wine.
And on this mountain He will destroy the [f](O)covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is [g]stretched over all nations.
He will [h](P)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord [i]God will (Q)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the (R)disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, (S)this is our God for whom we have (T)waited [j]that (U)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
(V)Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
10 For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain,
And (W)Moab will be trampled down in his place
As straw is trampled down in the water of a manure pile.
11 And he will (X)spread out his hands in the middle of it
As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim,
But the Lord will (Y)lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.
12 The (Z)unassailable fortifications of your walls He will bring down,
Lay low, and throw to the ground, to the dust.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 25:5 Lit humbled
  2. Isaiah 25:6 Lit feast of fat things; i.e., abundance
  3. Isaiah 25:6 Lit wine on the lees
  4. Isaiah 25:6 Lit fat pieces
  5. Isaiah 25:6 Lit wine refined on the lees
  6. Isaiah 25:7 Lit face of the covering
  7. Isaiah 25:7 Lit woven
  8. Isaiah 25:8 I.e., destroy
  9. Isaiah 25:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  10. Isaiah 25:9 Or and He saved us