Isaiah 25 · Verse 2

Isaiah 25:2

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.
Isaiah 25:2, King James Version

Isaiah 25:2 in other translations

BSBIndeed, 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.
WEBFor 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.
ASVFor 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.
YLTFor Thou didst make of a city a heap, Of a fenced city a ruin, A high place of strangers from being a city, To the age it is not built.
DARBYFor 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.
BBEFor you have made a town a waste place: a strong town a mass of broken walls; the tower of the men of pride has come to an end; it will never be put up again.
WebsterFor 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.

What does Isaiah 25:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. 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 metropolis of the pagan world. "Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise" (Is 29:5; Ep 2:12; see in contrast, Joe 3:17). never be built--(Is 13:19, 20, &c.).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 A 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 another read זדים zedim, the proud: so likewise the Septuagint; for they render it ασεβων here, and in Isa 25:5, as they do in some other places: see Deu 18:20, Deu 18:22. Another MS. reads צרים tsarim, adversaries; which also makes a good sense. But זרים zarim, strangers, and זדים zedim, the proud, are often confounded by the great similitude of the letters ד daleth and ר resh. See Mal 3:15; Mal 4:1; Psa 19:14, in the Septuagint; and Psa 54:5, where the Chaldee reads זדים zedim, compared with Psa 86:16.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 25:1-5

A song of praise. (Is. 25:1-5) A declaration of the gospel blessings. (Is. 25:6-8) The destruction of the enemies of Christ's church. (Is. 25:9-12) Verses 1-5 However this might show the deliverance of the Jews out of captivity, it looked further, to the praises that should be offered up to God for Christ's victories over our spiritual enemies, and the comforts he has provided for all believers. True faith simply…

Read the full comment on Isaiah 25:1-5 →

Isaiah 25:2 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֣יkiforH3588
שַׂ֤מְתָּSam.tayou have madeH7760
מֵעִיר֙me.'Irfrom a cityH5892
לַגָּ֔לla.Galinto <the> heapH1530
קִרְיָ֥הkir.Yaha townH7151
בְצוּרָ֖הve.tzu.RahfortifiedH1219
לְמַפֵּלָ֑הle.ma.pe.Lahinto a ruinH4654
אַרְמ֤וֹן'ar.Mona fortress ofH759
זָרִים֙za.RimstrangersH2114
מֵעִ֔ירme.'Irfrom a cityH5892
לְעוֹלָ֖םle.'o.Lamfor everH5769
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
יִבָּנֶֽה\׃yi.ba.Nehit will be rebuiltH1129

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 25:2

  • Isaiah 17:1

    The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

  • Isaiah 13:22

    And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

  • Isaiah 25:12

    And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

  • Isaiah 21:9

    And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

  • Deuteronomy 13:16

    And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

  • Isaiah 23:13

    Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

  • Jeremiah 51:26

    And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the Lord.

  • Isaiah 14:23

    I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Nahum 3:12-15

    All thy strong holds shall be like fig trees with the firstripe figs: if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater. Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Draw thee waters for the siege, fortify thy strong holds: go into clay, and tread the morter, make strong the brickkiln. There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off, it shall eat thee up like the cankerworm: make thyself many as the cankerworm, make thyself many as the locusts.

  • Revelation 18:19

    And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

  • Revelation 18:2-3

    And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

  • Isaiah 17:3

    The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
For.
12; 14:23; 17:1; 21:9; 23:13; De 13:16; Jer 51:26; Na 3:12-15
palace.
13:22; Re 18:2,3,19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 25:1

    O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

  • Isaiah 25:2

    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.

  • Isaiah 25:3

    Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

Read all of Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Que tornaste la ciudad en montón, la ciudad fuerte en ruina: el alcázar de los extraños que no sea ciudad, ni nunca jamás sea reedeficada.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car tu as fait d’une ville un monceau de pierres; d’une cité fortifiée, des ruines; d’un palais d’étrangers, qu’il ne soit plus une ville: il ne sera jamais rebâti.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn du hast aus einer Stadt einen Steinhaufen gemacht, die feste Stadt zu einem Trümmerhaufen, den Palast der Fremden, daß er keine Stadt mehr sei: er wird in Ewigkeit nicht aufgebaut werden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quia posuisti civitatem in tumulum, urbem fortem in ruinam, domum alienorum: ut non sit civitas, et in sempiternum non ædificetur.