A Song of Praise to God
Study note
Isaiah praises God for faithfully carrying out plans that were made long ago. God has turned proud cities into heaps of rubble and has been a shelter for the poor and needy. Like shade from the heat or shelter from a storm, God protects his people from the fury of their enemies. The 'strangers' and 'terrible ones' represent the powerful nations that oppressed God's people.
1 O Lord, you are my God. I will lift you up and praise your name. You have done incredible things. Your ancient plans have come true, exactly and completely as you said. 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.
2 You have turned a fortified city into a heap of rubble. The stronghold built by foreigners is no longer a city. It will never be put back together. 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.
3 Because of what you have done, powerful nations will honor you. The cities of ruthless peoples will treat you with respect. Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.
4 You have been a safe place for those with nothing and a shelter for the needy when times got hard. You are like protection from a violent storm and shade from the blazing heat. The fury of cruel people beats against your wall like a rainstorm, but it cannot break through. For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
5 You hush the noise of arrogant foreigners the way shade cools the heat. The victory song of the cruel is silenced. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.
The Great Feast and the End of Death
Study note
On Mount Zion, God will prepare a rich feast for all peoples. The 'covering' and 'veil' that are removed symbolize the sorrow and spiritual blindness that affect all nations. The promise that God will swallow up death forever is one of the most hopeful verses in all of Scripture. The apostle Paul later quoted this verse when writing about the resurrection. God will also wipe away every tear, a promise repeated in the book of Revelation.
6 On this mountain, the Lord who rules over all will make a feast of the finest food for all peoples. It will be a meal of aged wines, the most tender meats, and the very best drinks. And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people 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.
7 On this mountain, he will tear away the curtain of sadness over all peoples. He will remove the dark cover of grief hanging over every nation. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death and make it disappear forever. The Lord God will wipe every tear from every face. He will take away the disgrace his people have endured across the whole earth. The Lord has given his word. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Waiting for God's Salvation
Study note
The people respond with joy when they see God's salvation. They declare that this is the God they have been waiting for. Meanwhile, the proud nation of Moab, which represents all who oppose God, will be humbled and brought low despite all their efforts.
9 When that day comes, people will say, 'Look, this is our God! We trusted him, and he came through for us! This is the Lord. We put our hope in him. Let us celebrate and be thrilled by his rescue!' And it shall be said in that day, Lo, 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.
10 The Lord's protective hand will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled flat where they stand, the way straw is mashed down in a pile of manure. For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
11 Moab will stretch out its arms in the middle of it, trying to swim out the way a swimmer spreads out their arms. But God will push down their pride, no matter how clever their attempts to escape. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
12 He will tear down their high, fortified walls and level them to the ground, bringing them all the way down to the dust. 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.