Isaiah 25:2
1 O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders— plans formed long ago— in perfect faithfulness.
Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, a strong people will honor You. The cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
4 For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- For you have made a city into a heap, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city. It will never be built.
- ASV
- For thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.
- DARBY
- For thou hast made of the city a heap, of the fortified town a ruin, the palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built up.
- BLB
- For You have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin, a fortress of strangers from a city—forever it will never be rebuilt!
- ÅB
- For du har gjort en by til en stenhaug, en fast by til en grusdynge, du har ødelagt de fremmedes palasser, så det ikke mere er noen by; de skal aldri mere bygges opp igjen.
- OTB
- Du har gjort byen til en ruinhaug, den befestede byen til en ruin; fremmedes palass er ikke lenger en by, den vil aldri bli gjenoppbygd.
- B1930
- For du har gjort en by til en stenhaug, en fast by til en grusdynge, du har ødelagt de fremmedes palasser, så det ikke mere er nogen by; de skal aldri mere bygges op igjen.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Isaiah 17:1
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
Read in contextIsaiah 13:22
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses and jackals in her luxurious palaces. Babylon’s time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.
Read in contextIsaiah 25:12
The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.
Read in contextIsaiah 21:9
Look, here come the riders, horsemen in pairs.” And one answered, saying: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon! All the images of her gods lie shattered on the ground!”
Read in contextDeuteronomy 13:16
And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt.
Read in contextIsaiah 23:13
Look at the land of the Chaldeans — a people now of no account. The Assyrians destined it for the desert creatures; they set up their siege towers and stripped its palaces. They brought it to ruin.
Read in contextJeremiah 51:26
No one shall retrieve from you a cornerstone or a foundation stone, because you will become desolate forever,” declares the LORD.
Read in contextIsaiah 14:23
“I will make her a place for owls and for swamplands; I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
Read in context