< Isaiah 25 >
1 The LORD, you are my God. I will exalt you! I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago, in complete faithfulness and truth.
O Lord God, I will glorify you, I will sing to your name; for you have done wonderful things, [even] an ancient [and] faithful counsel. So be it.
2 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.
For you have made cities a heap, [even] cities [made] strong that their foundations should not fall: the city of ungodly men shall not be built for ever.
3 Therefore a strong people will glorify you. A city of awesome nations will fear you.
Therefore shall the poor people bless you, and cities of injured men shall bless you.
4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the dreaded ones is like a storm against the wall.
For you have been a helper to every lowly city, and a shelter to them that were disheartened by reason of poverty: you shall deliver them from wicked men: [you have been] a shelter of them that thirst, and a refreshing air to injured men.
5 As the heat in a dry place you will bring down the noise of strangers; as the heat by the shade of a cloud, the song of the dreaded ones will be brought low.
[We were] as faint-hearted men thirsting in Sion, by reason of ungodly men to whom you did deliver us.
6 In this mountain, the LORD of Armies will make all peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast of choice wines, of choice meat full of marrow, of well refined choice wines.
And the Lord of hosts shall make [a feast] for all the nations: on this mount they shall drink gladness, they shall drink wine:
7 He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
they shall anoint themselves with ointment in this mountain. Impart you all these things to the nations; for this is [God's] counsel upon all the nations.
8 He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for the LORD has spoken it.
Death has prevailed and swallowed [men] up; but again the Lord God has taken away every tear from every face. He has taken away the reproach of [his] people from all the earth: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
9 It shall be said in that day, “Behold, 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!”
And in that day they shall say, behold our God in whom we have trusted, and he shall save us: this [is] the Lord; we have waited for him, and we have exulted, and will rejoice in our salvation.
10 For the LORD’s hand will rest in this mountain. Moab will be trodden down in his place, even like straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.
God will give rest on this mountain, and the country of Moab shall be trodden down, as they tread the floor with waggons.
11 He will spread out his hands in the middle of it, like one who swims spreads out hands to swim, but his pride will be humbled together with the craft of his hands.
And he shall spread forth his hands, even as he also brings down [man] to destroy [him]: and he shall bring low his pride [in regard to the thing] on which he has laid his hands.
12 He has brought the high fortress of your walls down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.
And he shall bring down the height of the refuge of the wall, and it shall come down even to the ground.