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.

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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]
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.
So a strong nation will extol you;
the towns of[g] powerful nations will fear you.
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]
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]

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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.