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Isaiah 25 Bible study: He has swallowed up death
In Hebrew one verb does both: the LORD of Armies "will destroy" the covering over all peoples (25:7) and has "swallowed up death forever" (25:8). Paul gives "Death is swallowed up in victory" as "what is written" (1 Corinthians 15:54), for the day the dead are raised.
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“He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for the LORD has spoken it.”
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“In Isaiah 25:6, the LORD of Armies makes the feast for all peoples.”
Is that in Isaiah 25, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Swallowed, twice
"He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations" (25:7). Then: "He has swallowed up death forever!" (25:8). Here is what almost everyone misses: in Hebrew destroy in 25:7 and swallowed up in 25:8 are one verb, bala' (tap swallowed up). Brown-Driver-Briggs gives it as "swallow down, swallow up, engulf", and Strong's as "to make away with (specifically by swallowing); generally, to destroy". The WEB gives it two ways a verse apart, but in Hebrew the same verb takes away the covering over all peoples and takes away death. The one who does it is the one who makes the feast in 25:6, "the LORD of Armies" (25:6).
Where it leads to Jesus
Death is swallowed up
Isaiah 25:8leads to1 Corinthians 15:54
The chapter says, "He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces" (25:8). Paul, writing of the time when "the dead will be raised incorruptible" (1 Corinthians 15:52), says, "But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”" (1 Corinthians 15:54). He doesn't name Isaiah, and the WEB words the two differently: 25:8 has forever, and 1 Corinthians has in victory (tap swallowed up, forever). Paul gives the words to the raising of the dead, and the sentence they lead to names Jesus: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). Isaiah 25:8 itself doesn't speak of the dead being raised, and these notes don't read that into it.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Isaiah 25
That was a taste
The rest of Isaiah 25 is waiting in Favor
- All peoples, on this mountain
- We have waited for him
- A stronghold, a refuge, a shade
- Laid low, to the dust
- 6 questions as you read
- 14 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
בָּלַעbala'say ba-LA
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "swallow down, swallow up, engulf". Strong's: "to make away with (specifically by swallowing); generally, to destroy". "He has swallowed up death forever!" (25:8). The verse before has the same verb, where the WEB gives it as destroy: "He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples" (25:7). Isaiah has it eight times in Hebrew, and the WEB gives four of them as destroy or destroyed (3:12, 9:16, 19:3, 25:7). In the law it is what the earth did: "The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households" (Numbers 16:32). In 25:8 what is swallowed up is death.
For your group
Isaiah 25 Bible study questions
- 1"For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress" (25:4). When has God been a stronghold for you in a hard time?
- 2"The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces" (25:8). How does it change the way you carry sorrow, yours or someone else's, to know that this is what he says he will do?
- 3"We have waited for him, and he will save us!" (25:9). What are you waiting on God for right now, and what helps you keep waiting?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Isaiah 25 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home