< Isaiah 25 >
1 O Lord, my God art thou; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, resolves of distant times [are become] faithful confirmation.
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 thou hast made of a city a stone-heap; of a fortified town a falling ruin; the palace of barbarians ceaseth out of the city, to eternity shall it not be rebuilt.
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 shall a strong people honor thee; the town of the tyrannical nations shall fear thee.
Therefore shall the poor people bless you, and cities of injured men shall bless you.
4 For thou hast become a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy when he is distressed; a protection from the tempest, a shadow from the heat; for the [wrathful] breath of the tyrants is like the tempest against a 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 Like heat in a dry land, wilt thou subdue the tumult of the barbarians; as the heat [is lessened] by the shadow of the cloud, so will he subdue the song of the tyrants.
[We were] as faint-hearted men thirsting in Sion, by reason of ungodly men to whom you did deliver us.
6 And the Lord of hosts will make unto all the nations on this mountain 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.
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 And he will destroy on this mountain the face of the covering which covereth all the people, and the vail that is spread over all the 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 will destroy death to eternity: and the Lord Eternal will wipe away the tear from off all faces; and the shame of his people will he remove from off all the earth; for the Lord hath 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 And men will say on that day, Lo, this is our God, for whom we have waited that he would help us; this is the Lord for whom we have waited, we will be glad and we will 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 hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, and Moab shall be trodden down on his own place, even as straw is trodden down upon 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 And he will spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as the swimmer spreadeth them forth to swim: and he will bring down his pride together with the joints 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 And the fortress of the stronghold of thy walls he bringeth down, layeth low, casteth it 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.