New Living Translation
Isaiah 25:2
2You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and 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, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt. 3Therefore, strong nations will declare your glory; ruthless nations will fear you. 4But you are a tower of refuge to the poor, O Lord, a tower of refuge to the needy in distress. You are a refuge from the storm and a shelter from the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating 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 25:12The high walls of Moab will be demolished. They will be brought down to the ground, down into the dust.
- Isaiah 14:23“I will make Babylon a desolate place of owls, filled with swamps and marshes. I will sweep the land with the broom of destruction. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
- Isaiah 17:1This message came to me concerning Damascus: “Look, the city of Damascus will disappear! It will become a heap of ruins.
- Isaiah 21:9Now at last—look! Here comes a man in a chariot with a pair of horses!” Then the watchman said, “Babylon is fallen, fallen! All the idols of Babylon lie broken on the ground!”
- Isaiah 23:13Look at the land of Babylonia— the people of that land are gone! The Assyrians have handed Babylon over to the wild animals of the desert. They have built siege ramps against its walls, torn down its palaces, and turned it to a heap of rubble.
- Deuteronomy 13:16Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 51:26You will be desolate forever. Even your stones will never again be used for building. You will be completely wiped out,” says the Lord.
- Nahum 3:12All your fortresses will fall. They will be devoured like the ripe figs that fall into the mouths of those who shake the trees.
- Isaiah 13:22Hyenas will howl in its fortresses, and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces. Babylon’s days are numbered; its time of destruction will soon arrive.
- Revelation 18:2He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.
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
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Commentaries