Isaiah 25:12
in Isaiah 25The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the high fortress of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 25
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down,.... That is, their high and, fenced walls, which were about their cities, the fortifications of them; these should be destroyed by the Lord, be battered and brought down, not being able to stand against his mighty power.
This site's exposition
the hand of the LORD will rest
on Isaiah 25:10-12
Beside the feast on Zion stands one judgment named at last, "Moab will be trampled", the nation the oracles have addressed since chapter 15. Moab spends his strength for nothing, "as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim". The oracles close as "The high-walled fortress will be brought down".
This site's exposition
The high-walled fortress will be brought down
Barnes reads the walls of Moab as a picture of every enemy of the people of God. Henry sees in their fall a type of the victory of Christ over death, the victory verse 8 has already announced. The LORD overtops every wall.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 9 and following) And they will say on that day: Behold, our God, we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord, we have endured him, we will rejoice and be glad in his salvation. For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain; and Moab shall be crushed under him, as straw is crushed on a threshing floor. And he will stretch out his hands under him, as a swimmer stretches out to swim, and his glory will be humbled with the buffeting of his hands.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the destruction of their fortifications: and the bulwarks, which are mentioned above (Isa 16:7).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
5 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. It is said in the close of the foregoing chapter that the Lord of hosts shall reign gloriously; now, in compliance with this, the prophet here speaks of the glorious majesty of his kingdom ( Ps. cxlv.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
There is no fortress impregnable to Omnipotence, no fort so high but the arm of the Lord can overtop it and bring it down. This destruction of Moab is typical of Christ's victory over death (spoken of
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And the fortress ... - Thy strong defenses shall be destroyed. This is spoken of Moab (compare the notes at Isa 15:1-9;Isa 16:1-14), and is designed to be emblematic of the enemies of the people of God (compare the notes at Isa. 34) The repetition of the expressions ‘bring down,’ ‘lay low,’ and ‘bring to the ground,’ is designed to make the sentence emphatic, and to indicate that it would certainly be accomplished.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And he shall spread out his hands (וּפֵרַשׂ) He shall break his hands and his arms by clapping his hands in weeping.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִבְצַ֞ר | umivtzar | and [the] fortification of | H4013 → | 37 times |
| מִשְׂגַּ֣ב | misgav | [the] refuge of | H4869 → | |
| חוֹמֹתֶ֗יךָ | chomoteikha | walls your | H2346 → | 133 times |
| הֵשַׁ֥ח | heshach | he will lay low | H7817 → | 21 times |
| הִשְׁפִּ֛יל | hishpil | he will bring [it] low | H8213 → | 31 times |
| הִגִּ֥יעַ | higia' | he will make [it] touch | H5060 → | 150 times |
| לָאָ֖רֶץ | laaretz | <to> the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עָפָֽר׃ ס | ʾafar | [the] dust | H6083 → | 110 times |
וּמִבְצַ֞רand [the] fortification of
umivtzarH4013 →37 times
מִשְׂגַּ֣ב[the] refuge of
misgavH4869 →
חוֹמֹתֶ֗יךָwalls your
chomoteikhaH2346 →133 times
הֵשַׁ֥חhe will lay low
heshachH7817 →21 times
הִשְׁפִּ֛ילhe will bring [it] low
hishpilH8213 →31 times
הִגִּ֥יעַhe will make [it] touch
higia'H5060 →150 times
לָאָ֖רֶץ<to> the ground
laaretzH776 →2504 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עָפָֽר׃ ס[the] dust
ʾafarH6083 →110 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 11:30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
it leads to
- Joshua 6:3–20
March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Joshua 6:3–20
Through
Revelation 18:21Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:63–64
When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates.
- Ezekiel 26:21
I will make you an object of horror, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but will never be found,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- Jeremiah 51:63–64
Through
Isaiah 26:5For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust.
it leads to
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
- Job 40:11–13
Unleash the fury of your wrath; look on every proud man and bring him low.
- Jeremiah 51:37
Babylon will become a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals, an object of horror and scorn, without inhabitant.
- Revelation 18:2
Through
Jeremiah 51:64Then you are to say, ‘In the same way Babylon will sink and never rise again, because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will grow weary.’” Here end the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:58
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Babylon’s thick walls will be leveled, and her high gates consumed by fire. So the labor of the people will be for nothing; the nations will…
- Jeremiah 51:58
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.