Isaiah 30:25

Translation
King James Version
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
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KJV (with Strong's)
And there shall be upon every high H1364 mountain H2022, and upon every high H5375 hill H1389, rivers H6388 and streams H2988 of waters H4325 in the day H3117 of the great H7227 slaughter H2027, when the towers H4026 fall H5307.
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Complete Jewish Bible
On every high mountain and lofty hill will be streams and flowing brooks, on a day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.
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Berean Standard Bible
And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.
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American Standard Version
And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, brooks and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
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World English Bible Messianic
There shall be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
And vpon euery hie mountaine, and vpon euery hie hill shall there be riuers and streames of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall.
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Young's Literal Translation
And there hath been on every high mount, And on every exalted hill, Rivulets--streams of waters, In a day of much slaughter, in the falling of towers.
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See also
Isaiah 35:6Isaiah 35:7Isaiah 43:19Isaiah 43:20Isaiah 2:14Isaiah 2:15Isaiah 37:36
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In the KJVVerse 18,243 of 31,102

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SUMMARY

Isaiah 30:25 masterfully presents a profound prophetic paradox, envisioning a future where catastrophic divine judgment and supernatural blessing coalesce. In this breathtaking vision, Isaiah foretells a climactic "day of the great slaughter" for God's adversaries, characterized by the collapse of all human-made towers of pride. Yet, concurrently, this very day ushers in a miraculous outpouring of life-giving rivers and streams onto every high mountain and hill. The verse encapsulates the dual nature of God's ultimate intervention in history—a decisive reckoning for the rebellious that paradoxically ushers in unparalleled refreshment and radical restoration for the land and His repentant people, demonstrating His absolute sovereignty over all creation and human ambition.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: This verse is strategically placed in the latter half of Isaiah chapter 30, marking a significant shift in tone from severe rebuke to glorious promise. The initial verses of the chapter deliver a scathing indictment against Judah for their faithless reliance on an alliance with Egypt to counter the Assyrian threat, a choice that demonstrated a profound distrust in Yahweh. However, from verse 18 onward, the prophet pivots to a message of profound hope and restoration, emphasizing God's patient grace. The Lord, who has waited to be gracious, promises a future characterized by healing, forgiveness, and abundant provision. Verse 25 serves as a climactic depiction of this renewed world, following earlier promises of answered prayer, the presence of the divine Teacher, and agricultural bounty. It acts as a powerful bridge, linking the necessary judgment upon God's enemies to the lavish blessings poured out upon His redeemed people.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: Isaiah's prophetic ministry unfolded during the tumultuous 8th century BC, an era dominated by the relentless expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyria, and the southern kingdom of Judah lived under constant threat. King Hezekiah, a primary recipient of Isaiah's prophecies, initially sought security through political alliances, including the ill-advised pact with Egypt—a regional power against whom the prophets consistently warned. In the arid ancient Near East, "towers" (Hebrew: migdâlîm) were potent symbols of military might, royal authority, and urban security. Conversely, "rivers and streams of waters" represented the ultimate symbols of life, prosperity, and divine blessing in a land where water was a scarce and invaluable resource. The extraordinary promise of water on "high mountains" and "hills"—often sites of pagan worship and natural aridity—signified a complete reversal of both the spiritual and physical landscape, indicating a supernatural transformation.
  • Key Themes: Isaiah 30:25 profoundly contributes to several overarching themes within the book of Isaiah. Firstly, it highlights the theme of Judgment and Hope, a recurring motif where God's impending judgment is portrayed as the necessary precursor to His redemptive work. Isaiah consistently juxtaposes warnings of destruction with glorious promises of future restoration. Secondly, the verse underscores the Futility of Human Pride vs. Divine Sovereignty. The "towers" symbolize the zenith of human achievement, self-reliance, and worldly security, which Isaiah declares will inevitably crumble. This theme is central to the prophet's message, as seen in the sweeping prophecy against all that is lofty in Isaiah 2:12-17. The fall of these towers signifies the complete collapse of any power or system that exalts itself against God. Finally, the theme of Eschatological Restoration is vividly portrayed, where the promised blessings transcend a mere return from exile, pointing instead to a messianic age of radical renewal where the created order itself is transformed, and spiritual thirst is quenched by the direct, abundant provision of God.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • High (Hebrew, gâbôahh', H1364): Referring to "high mountain" (H1364), this adjective signifies elevation, whether literal height or figurative loftiness, often carrying connotations of arrogance or pride. In the context of "high mountain" and "high hill," it points to prominent, elevated places that, in Israel's history, were frequently defiled by idolatrous worship. The promise of water on such "high" places signifies God's complete reclamation and purification of even the most exalted and formerly corrupted spheres.
  • Slaughter (Hebrew, hereg', H2027): This Hebrew noun, derived from the verb "to kill," denotes a violent, decisive, and often extensive killing or massacre. It is a stark, non-euphemistic term that speaks of a thorough and devastating defeat. In this context, "the day of the great slaughter" refers to a specific, future event of divine judgment where God's enemies—initially symbolized by the Assyrians but extending to all rebellious powers—are utterly overthrown. It signifies a complete and final reckoning, a definitive end to opposition.
  • Tower (Hebrew, migdâl', H4026): This word signifies a structure known for its height and strength, such as a watchtower, fortress, or citadel. Figuratively, it represents human pride, military might, self-sufficiency, and worldly systems of security and power. The "fall" (H5307, nâphal) of the towers is a potent image of the complete collapse of human confidence and the humbling of earthly powers before the supreme authority of God. It implies the demolition of all that humanity builds in defiance or independence from the Creator.
  • Stream (Hebrew, peleg', H6388): This term refers to a channel or rill of water, often specifically used for irrigation. Paired with "rivers" (H6388, also peleg or a related term often translated as such, or H5104 nâhâr for larger rivers), it paints a picture of abundant, life-sustaining water flowing freely. Its use here is extraordinary, as such water sources are promised on "every high mountain," places naturally arid and elevated. This signifies a supernatural provision that defies the laws of nature, symbolizing a radical outpouring of divine grace and spiritual life into places previously characterized by barrenness or idolatry.

Verse Breakdown

  • "And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters": This clause paints a vivid picture of a miraculous transformation of the landscape. Mountains and hills, typically dry and often associated with pagan "high places" of worship, will become sources of abundant, flowing water. This imagery signifies a complete renewal of the land, reversing the curse of barrenness and symbolizing an overflowing spiritual blessing and purification that reaches every part of the nation, even its most prominent and formerly corrupted centers. It speaks to a divine provision that transcends natural limitations.
  • "in the day of the great slaughter,": This temporal clause precisely sets the timing for the miraculous provision. The promised blessing does not arrive in a time of tranquil peace but occurs concurrently with a day of immense and violent judgment. This paradox is central to the verse's profound meaning: God's decisive act of destroying His enemies is the very event that unleashes life and restoration for His people and His creation. It underscores that divine judgment and salvation are two inextricably linked facets of God's ultimate intervention in history.
  • "when the towers fall.": This final clause clarifies the nature of the "great slaughter," identifying its targets. It is a day when the symbols of human arrogance, military might, and false security are utterly brought to ruin. The falling towers represent the definitive end of humanity's rebellion and self-reliance, signifying the humbling of all earthly power structures that oppose God. It is only when these human-built structures of pride and self-sufficiency are demolished that the divine streams of grace and life can flow unimpeded.

Literary Devices

Isaiah masterfully employs several literary devices to convey this powerful and paradoxical message. The most prominent is Juxtaposition, placing the violent imagery of "great slaughter" and "falling towers" directly against the life-giving imagery of "rivers and streams of waters." This sharp contrast creates a profound theological paradox, compelling the reader to grasp that God's judgment and His salvation are inextricably linked, often occurring simultaneously or as cause and effect. Closely related is the potent use of Symbolism. The "towers" are not merely literal structures but powerful symbols of human pride, military power, self-reliance, and rebellion against God. The "high mountains and hills" symbolize both places of prominence and historical sites of idolatry, while the "water" is a classic biblical symbol for life, purification, and the abundant outpouring of God's Spirit. Finally, Isaiah utilizes Hyperbole in describing rivers on "every" high mountain and hill to emphasize the totality, universality, and boundless nature of this future restoration. It is a blessing that knows no limits, supernaturally transforming the entire landscape and spiritual reality.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

This verse serves as a profound Old Testament portrait of eschatological hope, where divine judgment is the necessary prelude to ultimate blessing. The theme of God bringing water to barren places to signify spiritual renewal is a rich thread running throughout Scripture, anticipating a day when God will not just restore Israel but will renew all of creation, making His life-giving presence felt in the most unlikely of places. The fall of the towers connects seamlessly to the consistent biblical theme of God humbling the proud and exalting the humble, demonstrating that all human systems of power and security are transient and will ultimately give way to the unchallenged reign of God. This vision of a renewed creation, irrigated by divine streams, points toward the final state of glory where God's presence fully saturates the world, transforming barrenness into flourishing life.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

Isaiah 30:25 challenges us to critically re-evaluate where we place our ultimate trust. The "towers" of our contemporary world may not be literal stone fortresses, but they manifest as our careers, financial portfolios, intellectual pride, political ideologies, social status, or personal abilities. This verse serves as a stark and sobering reminder that every human-built tower of self-reliance, every system not rooted in God, will one day fall. Yet, this is not a message of despair but of profound, counter-intuitive hope. It is precisely "in the day" that our false securities crumble, that our self-made structures fail, that God promises to open up rivers of living water. Often, it is in our moments of greatest failure, loss, or the "slaughter" of our egos and ambitions that we become truly open to receiving the supernatural grace and provision of God. This passage invites us to find our security not in the fleeting towers we construct, but in the eternal God who can make rivers flow on mountaintops. It calls us to trust that even in seasons of divine judgment or intense personal trial, God is actively at work, clearing the ground for a restoration more wonderful and abundant than we can possibly imagine.

Questions for Reflection

  • What "towers" of pride, self-reliance, or worldly security have you built in your own life? In what ways might God be calling you to trust less in them and more in Him?
  • How does the paradox of "slaughter" and "streams"—judgment leading to refreshment—change your perspective on difficult or painful seasons in your life or in the world?
  • Where are the "high, dry places" in your heart, your family, your church, or your community? How can you pray with faith for God to bring His "rivers of living water" to those areas?
  • Reflect on a time when a personal "tower" fell. How did you experience God's unexpected provision and grace in the aftermath of that collapse?

FAQ

What is "the day of the great slaughter," and does it refer to a specific historical event?

Answer: "The day of the great slaughter" has both an immediate historical fulfillment and a long-range eschatological meaning. In its most direct context, it likely points to the miraculous destruction of the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, which was besieging Jerusalem. As recorded in Isaiah 37:36, the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night, a "great slaughter" that delivered Judah. This event was a stunning fall of the "towers" of Assyrian military might. However, like much of Isaiah's prophecy, the language transcends a single historical event. It serves as a prototype for God's final, decisive judgment against all evil and rebellion at the end of the age. Therefore, it points forward to the ultimate "Day of the Lord," when all human pride and opposition to God will be definitively overthrown, clearing the way for the new heavens and the new earth.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

Isaiah's prophecy of supernatural provision amid judgment finds its ultimate and most beautiful fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the very source of the living water that quenches all spiritual thirst, declaring, "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again." This is the profound spiritual reality behind Isaiah's vision of rivers miraculously appearing on every high mountain. Furthermore, Christ's death on the cross was the ultimate "day of the great slaughter," where the powers of sin, death, and the devil were decisively defeated. On the cross, the greatest tower of human rebellion—our sin that separates us from God—was brought to complete ruin. It is precisely through the judgment executed upon Christ, the Lamb of God, that the streams of forgiveness, grace, and eternal life now flow freely to all who believe. His work on the cross demolishes every spiritual stronghold, for "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds." The high mountains, once literal and symbolic places of pagan idolatry, are now, in Christ, transformed into places of divine encounter and worship, prefigured by the Transfiguration on a high mountain apart. Ultimately, this verse points to the final victory of the Lamb, when all earthly kingdoms and their proud towers collapse, and the river of the water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, bringing eternal life and healing to the nations in the new creation.

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Commentary on Isaiah 30 verses 18–26

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

The closing words of the foregoing paragraph (You shall be left as a beacon upon a mountain) some understand as a promise that a remnant of them should be reserved as monuments of mercy; and here the prophet tells them what good times should succeed these calamities. Or the first words in this paragraph may be read by way of antithesis, Notwithstanding this, yet will the Lord wait that he may be gracious. The prophet, having shown that those who made Egypt their confidence would be ashamed of it, here shows that those who sat still and made God alone their confidence would have the comfort of it. It is matter of comfort to the people of God, when the times are very bad, that all will be well yet, well with those that fear God, when we say to the wicked, It shall be ill with you.

I. God will be gracious to them and will have mercy on them. This is the foundation of all good. If we find favour with God, and he have mercy upon us, we shall have comfort according to the time that we have been afflicted.

1.The mercy in store for them is very affectingly expressed. (1.) "He will wait to be gracious (Isa 30:18); he will wait till you return to him and seek his face, and then he will be ready to meet you with mercy. He will wait, that he may do it in the best and fittest time, when it will be most for his glory, when it will come to you with the most pleasing surprise. He will continually follow you with his favours, and not let slip any opportunity of being gracious to you." (2.) "He will stir up himself to deliver you, will be exalted, will be raised up out of his holy habitation (Zac 2:13), that he may appear for you in more than ordinary instances of power and goodness; and thus he will be exalted, that is, he will glorify his own name. This is what he aims at in having mercy on his people." (3.) He will be very gracious (Isa 30:19), and this in answer to prayer, which makes his kindness doubly kind: "He will be gracious to thee, at the voice of thy cry, the cry of thy necessity, when that is most urgent - the cry of thy prayer, when that is most fervent. When he shall hear it, there needs no more; at the first word he will answer thee, and say, Here I am." Herein he is very gracious indeed. In particular, [1.] Those who were disturbed in the possession of their estates shall again enjoy them quietly. When the danger is over the people shall dwell in Zion, at Jerusalem, as they used to do; they shall dwell safely, free from the fear of evil. [2.] Those who were all in tears shall have cause to rejoice, and shall weep no more; and those who dwell in Zion, the holy city, will find enough there to wipe away tears from their eyes.

2.This is grounded upon two great truths: (1.) That the Lord is a God of judgment; he is both wise and just in all the disposals of his providence, true to his word and tender of his people. If he correct his children, it is with judgment (Jer 10:24), with moderation and discretion, considering their frame. We think we may safely refer ourselves to a man of judgment; and shall we not commit our way to a God of judgment? (2.) That therefore all those are blessed who wait for him, who not only wait on him with their prayers, but wait for him with their hopes, who will not take any indirect course to extricate themselves out of their straits, or anticipate their deliverance, but patiently expect God's appearances for them in his own way and time. Because God is infinitely wise, those are truly happy who refer their cause to him.

II. They shall not again know the want of the means of grace, Isa 30:20, Isa 30:21. Here, 1. It is supposed that they might be brought into straits and troubles after this deliverance was wrought for them. It was promised (Isa 30:19), that they should weep no more and that God would be gracious to them; and yet here it is taken for granted that God may give them the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, prisoners' fare (Kg1 22:27), coarse and sorry food, such as the poor use. When one trouble is over we know not how soon another may succeed; and we may have an interest in the favour of God, and such consolations as are sufficient to prohibit weeping, and yet may have bread of adversity given us to eat and water of affliction to drink. Let us therefore not judge of love or hatred by what is before us. 2. It is promised that their eyes should see their teachers, that is, that they should have faithful teachers among them, and should have hearts to regard them and not slight them as they had done; and then they might the better be reconciled to the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. It was a common saying among the old Puritans, Brown bread and the gospel are good fare. A famine of bread is not so great a judgment as a famine of the word of God, Amo 8:11, Amo 8:12. It seems that their teachers had been removed into corners (probably being forced to shift for their safety in the reign of Ahaz), but it shall be so no more. Veritas non quaerit angulos - Truth seeks no corners for concealment. But the teachers of truth may sometimes be driven into corners for shelter; and it goes ill with the church when it is so, when the woman with her crown of twelve stars is forced to flee into the wilderness (Rev 12:6), when the prophets are hidden by fifty in a cave, Kg1 18:4. But God will find a time to call the teachers out of their corners again, and to replace them in their solemn assemblies, which shall see their own teachers, the eyes of all the synagogue being fastened on them, Luk 4:20. And it will be the more pleasing because of the restraint they have been for some time under, as light out of darkness, as life from the dead. To all that love God and their own souls this return of faithful teachers out of their corners, especially with a promise that they shall not be removed into corners any more, is the most acceptable part of any deliverance, and has comfort enough in it to sweeten even the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. But this is not all: 3. It is promised that they shall have the benefit, not only of the public ministry, but of private and particular admonition and advice (Isa 30:21): "Thy ears shall hear a word behind thee, calling after thee as a man calls after a traveller that he sees going out of his road." Observe, (1.) Whence this word shall come - from behind thee, from some one whom thou dost not see, but who sees thee. "Thy eyes see thy teachers; but this is a teacher out of sight, it is thy own conscience, which shall now by the grace of God be awakened to do its office." (2.) What the word shall be: "This is the way, walk you in it. When thou art doubting, conscience shall direct thee to the way of duty; when thou art dull and trifling, conscience shall quicken thee in that way." As God has not left himself without witness, so he has not left us without guides to show us our way. (3.) The seasonableness of this word: It shall come when you turn to the right hand or to the left. We are very apt to miss our way; there are turnings on both hands, and those so tracked and seemingly straight that they may easily be mistaken for the right way. There are right-hand and left-hand errors, extremes on each side virtue; the tempter is busy courting us into the by-paths. It is happy then if by the particular counsels of a faithful minister or friend, or the checks of conscience and the strivings of God's Spirit, we be set right and prevented from going wrong. (4.) The success of this word: "It shall not only be spoken, but thy ears shall hear it; whereas God has formerly spoken once, yea, twice, and thou hast not perceived it (Job 33:14), now thou shalt listen attentively to these secret whispers, and hear them with an obedient ear." If God gives us not only the word, but the hearing ear, not only the means of grace, but a heart to make a good use of those means, we have reason to say, He is very gracious to us, and reason to hope he has yet further mercy in store for us.

III. They shall be cured of their idolatry, shall fall out with their idols, and never be reconciled to them again, Isa 30:22. The deliverance God shall work for them shall convince them that it is their interest, as well as duty, to serve him only; and they shall own that, as their trouble was brought upon them for their idolatries, so it was removed upon condition that they should not return to them. This is also the good effect of their seeing their teachers and hearing the word behind them; by this it shall appear that they are the better for the means of grace they enjoy - they shall break off from their best-beloved sin. Observe, 1. How foolishly mad they had formerly been upon their idols, in the day of their apostasy. Idolaters are said to be mad upon their idols (Jer 50:38), doatingly fond of them. They had graven images of silver, and molten images of gold, and, though gold needs no painting, they had coverings and ornaments on these; they spared no cost in doing honour to their idols. 2. How wisely mad (if I may so speak) they now were at their idols, what a holy indignation they conceived against them in the day of their repentance. They not only degraded their images, but defaced them, not only defaced them, but defiled them; they not only spoiled the shape of them, but in a pious fury threw away the gold and silver they were made of, though otherwise valuable and convertible to a good use. They could not find in their hearts to make any vessel of honour of them. The rich clothes wherewith their images were dressed up they cast away as a filthy cloth which rendered those that touched it unclean until the evening, Lev 15:23. Note, To all true penitents sin has become very odious; they loathe it, and loathe themselves because of it; they cast it away to the dunghill, the fittest place for it, nay, to the cross, for they crucify the flesh; their cry against it is, Crucify it, crucify it. They say unto it, Abi hinc in malam rem - Get thee hence. They are resolved never to harbour it any more. They put as far from as they can all the occasions of sin and temptations to it, though they are as a right eye or a right hand, and protest against it as Ephraim did (Hos 14:8), What have I to do any more with idols? Probably this was fulfilled in many particular persons, who, by the deliverance of Jerusalem from Sennacherib's army, were convinced of the folly of their idolatry and forsook it. It was fulfilled in the body of the Jewish nation at their return from their captivity in Babylon, for they abhorred idols ever after; and it is accomplished daily in the conversion of souls, by the power of divine grace, from spiritual idolatry to the fear and love of God. Those that join themselves to the Lord must abandon every sin, and say unto it, Get thee hence.

IV. God will then give them plenty of all good things. When he gives them their teachers, and they give him their hearts, so that they begin to seek the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, then all other things shall be added to them Mat 6:33. And when the people are brought to praise God then shall the earth yield her increase, and with it God, even our own God, shall bless us, Psa 67:5, Psa 67:6. So it follows here: "When you shall have abandoned your idols, then shall God give the rain of your seed," Isa 30:23. When we return to God in a way of duty he will meet us with his favours. 1. God will give you rain of your seed, rain to water the seed you sow, just at the time that it calls for it, as much as it needs and no more. Observe, How man's industry and God's blessing concur to the good things we enjoy relating to the life that now is: Thou shalt sow the ground, that is thy part, and then God will give the rain of thy seed, that is his part. It is so in spiritual fruit; we must take pains with our hearts and then wait on God for his grace. 2. The increase of the earth shall be rich and good, and every thing the best of the kind; it shall be fat and fat, very fat and very good, fat and plenteous (so we read it), good and enough of it. Your land shall be Canaan indeed; it was remarkably so after the defeat of Sennacherib, by the special blessing of God, Isa 37:30. God would thus repair the losses they sustained by that devastation. 3. Not only the tillage, but the pasture-ground should be remarkably fruitful: The cattle shall feed in large pastures; those that are at grass shall have room enough, and the oxen and asses that are kept up for use, to ear the ground, which must be the better fed for their being worked, shall eat clean provender. The corn shall not be given them in the chaff as usual, to make it go the further, but they shall have good clean corn fit for man's use, being winnowed with the fan. The brute-creatures shall share in the abundance; it is fit they should, for they groan under the burden of the curse which man's sin has brought upon the earth. 4. Even the tops of the mountains, that used to be barren, shall be so well watered with the rain of heaven that there shall be rivers and streams there, and running down thence to the valleys (Isa 30:25), and this in the day of the great slaughter that should be made by the angel in the camp of the Assyrians, when the towers and batteries they had erected for the carrying on of the siege of Jerusalem, the army being slain, should fall of course. It is probable that this was fulfilled in the letter of it, and that about the same time that that army was cut off there were extraordinary rains in mercy to the land.

V. The effect of all this should be extraordinary comfort and joy to the people of God, Isa 30:26. Light shall increase; that is, knowledge shall increase (when the prophecies are accomplished they shall be fully understood) or rather triumph shall: the light of the joy that is sown for the righteous shall now come up with a great increase. The light of the moon shall become as bright and as strong as that of the sun, and that of the sun shall increase proportionably and be as the light of seven days; every one shall be much more cheerful and appear much more pleasant than usual. There shall be a high spring-tide of joy in Judah and Jerusalem, upon occasion of the ruin of the Assyrian army, when the Lord binds up the breach of his people, not only saves them from being further wounded, but heals the wounds that have been given them by this invasion and makes up all their losses. The great distress they were reduced to, their despair of relief, and the suddenness of their deliverance, would much augment their joy. This is not unfitly applied by many to the light which the gospel brought into the world to those that sat in darkness, which has far exceeded the Old Testament light as that of the sun does that of the moon, and which proclaims healing to the broken-hearted, and the binding up of their wounds.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 18–26. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 25.) On that day, the lamb will graze abundantly in your possession. And your oxen and donkeys, who work the land, will eat a mixture of barley and chaff, like it has been winnowed in the threshing floor. And on that day, your horses will graze in a fertile and spacious place. Your bulls and cows, who work the land, will eat the mixture of chaff and barley in the winnowed grain. In the abundance of all things, with heavenly rain descending, and with that bread which comes down from heaven, whoever eats it will never hunger again. The lambs will graze in the most spacious place, following the lamb wherever it goes, and those who are always on the right side will also graze. But the leaders of the herd, of whom we read: The congregation of bulls in the midst of cows of the people (Ps. LXVII, 31): and the foals of donkeys, on which the Lord sitting entered Jerusalem (Matth. XXI), who work the land, they will eat from the threshing floor in such a way that it has been winnowed, so that nothing mixed of course in their food there will be chaff, of which it is written in Jeremiah: What has chaff to do with wheat, says the Lord (Jerem. XXIII)? And those who are burned with unquenchable fire in the Gospel (Luke III). Moreover, according to the Septuagint, the animals, which are not yet full of reason and wisdom, and of which one speaks to God: I have become like a beast before you (Ps. LXXII, 23), will be fed in a rich and spacious place, which does not bring forth thorns and thistles, but flows like the land of Israel with milk and honey, and grants full freedom to those who feed on it. But the bulls and oxen that work the land, that is, the Apostles and apostolic men, of whom the apostle Paul also interprets the writing: You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads out the grain. And, is God concerned with oxen? But certainly He speaks about those who work their own land and of whom He speaks the same, we are God's agriculture, God's building. For the Father is the farmer, and Christ is the vine: they will eat chaff mixed with winnowed barley. We read that Isaac sowed barley, and because he was among foreigners, he received a hundredfold harvest of barley. And Hosea, having hired a coro and a half of barley, took to himself an adulterous woman (Hosea III). The Savior also, with five thousand men who still served the desires of the flesh and followed the Law of Moses, satisfied them with barley loaves (John VI). In another place, by breaking seven loaves of the Law and dividing them into pieces, he filled four thousand men with wheat bread, who followed the evangelical number (Matthew XV). People of this kind eat both the chaff and the grain. While in some respects they adhere to the letter, gradually they make progress through the chaff and barley, in order to pass on to the wheat.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Isaiah
(Verse 25.) And they shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every elevated hill, flowing streams of water on the day of the slaughter of many, when the towers fall. In this place, the Jews attribute to the power of the Roman Empire the many who were killed and the towers that collapsed, about which the Apostle also speaks (2 Thess. 7): Only he who now holds it, let him hold it until it is taken away. That is, in that time there will be such great prosperity for the people of Israel that not only valleys and plains, but all mountains and hills will be irrigated by flowing waters. But we, let us understand the mountains and hills, those who are elevated in high virtues, who hunger and thirst for justice (Matt. 5), whom the Lord challenges to drink. For whoever drinks from His waters, will not thirst forever (John 4). Hence, in the psalm we read: Bless the Lord from the fountains of Israel (Ps. 67:27). And in the Gospel it is said that anyone who drinks from the waters of Jesus, rivers of living water will flow from his womb (John 7). And he speaks to God the Holy One, saying: For with you is the fountain of life (Ps. 36:10), from which the purest river flows, of which Scripture again mentions: The rushing of a river makes glad the city of God (Ps. 45:4). And in another place: The river of God is filled with water (Ps. 65:9); namely, the one who speaks through Jeremiah: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water (Jer. 2:13). But this will happen when they are killed or perish, many indeed are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 20:16). And when the towers fall, whether they be the powers of demons, or the proud and arrogant and great of this world; of whom it is said in the Psalms: I have seen the wicked exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, he was not, I sought him, and his place was not found (Ps. XXXVI, 35, 36). These towers desired to build (Gen. XII), those who moved their feet from the East, whose tongues were confounded in Babylon, and those on whom the tower of Siloam fell (Luke XIII).
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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