God’s Word Translation
Isaiah 25:2
2You have turned cities into ruins, fortified cities into piles of rubble, and foreigners’ palaces into cities that will never be rebuilt.
Isaiah 25:2 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin, the foreigners’ stronghold a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the foreigners' palace is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.
Context of Isaiah 25:2
1O Lord, you are my God. I will highly honor you; I will praise your name. You have done miraculous things. You have been completely reliable in carrying out your plans from long ago. You have turned cities into ruins, fortified cities into piles of rubble, and foreigners’ palaces into cities that will never be rebuilt. 3That is why strong people will honor you, and cities ruled by the world’s tyrants will fear you. 4You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rain, and shade from the heat. (A tyrant’s breath is like a rainstorm against a wall,
Read all of Isaiah 25Isaiah 25:2 word by word
כִּ֣י שַׂ֤מְתָּ מֵעִיר֙ לַגָּ֔ל קִרְיָ֥ה בְצוּרָ֖ה לְמַפֵּלָ֑ה אַרְמ֤וֹן זָרִים֙ מֵעִ֔יר לְעוֹלָ֖ם לֹ֥א יִבָּנֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For thou hast madeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
- of a cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- an heapגַּלgal · heapH1530
- a defencedבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
- cityקִרְיָהqiryâh · townH7151
- a ruinמַפֵּלָהmappâlâh mappêlâh · ruinH4654
- a palaceאַרְמוֹן'armôn · citadel: fortressH759
- of strangersזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
- it shall neverעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- be builtבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
Cross-references for Isaiah 25:2
- Isaiah 25:12He will bring down Moab’s high fortified walls, level them, and throw them into the dust on the ground.
- Isaiah 14:23“It will become the possession of herons. It will become pools of water. I’ll sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the Lord of Armies.
- Isaiah 17:1This is the divine revelation about Damascus. “Damascus will no longer be a city. It will become a pile of rubble.
- Isaiah 21:9Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs.” Then he said, “Babylon has fallen! It has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.”
- Isaiah 23:13Look at the land of the Babylonians. These people will be gone. Assyria gave this land to the desert animals. Assyria set up battle towers, stripped palaces bare, and turned these places into ruins.
- Deuteronomy 13:16Gather their goods into the middle of the city square. Then burn their city and all their goods as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. It must remain a mound of ruins and never be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 51:26People won’t find any stones in you to use as a cornerstone. They won’t find any stones in you to use for a foundation. You will become permanent ruins,” declares the Lord.
- Nahum 3:12All your defenses will be like fig trees with the earliest figs. When shaken, the figs fall into the mouth of the eater.
- Isaiah 13:22Hyenas will howl in Babylon’s strongholds, and jackals will howl in its luxurious palaces. Its time has almost come. Its days will not be extended.
- Revelation 18:2He cried out in a powerful voice, “Fallen! Babylon the Great has fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a prison for every evil spirit, every unclean bird, and every unclean and hated beast.
Commentaries on Isaiah 25:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A city "The city" - Nineveh, Babylon, Ar, Moab, or any other strong fortress possessed by the enemies of the people of God. For the first מעיר meir, of a city, the Syriac and Vulgate read העיר hair, the city; the Septuagint and Chaldee read ערים arim, cities, in the plural, transposing the letters. After the second מעיר meir, a MS. adds לגל lagol, for a heap. A palace of strangers "The palace of the proud ones" - For זרים zarim, strangers, MS. Bodl. and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2For thou hast made - This is supposed to be uttered by the Jews who should return from Babylon, and therefore refers to what would have been seen by them. In their time it would have occurred that God had made of the city an heap. Of a city - I suppose the whole scope of the passage requires us to understand this of Babylon. There has been, however, a great variety of interpretation of this passage. Grotius supposed that Samaria was intended. Calvin that…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5Isaiah praises God for protecting those in need (see Isaiah 12:1–6).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. a city ... heap--Babylon, type of the seat of Antichrist, to be destroyed in the last days (compare Jr 51:37, with Re 18:1-24, followed, as here, by the song of the saints' thanksgiving in Re 19:1-21). "Heaps" is a graphic picture of Babylon and Nineveh as they now are. palace--Babylon regarded, on account of its splendor, as a vast palace. But Maurer translates, "a citadel." of strangers--foreigners, whose capital pre-eminently Babylon was, the…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries