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Isaiah 65:25

in Isaiah 65

The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.

KJV

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

This verse in Isaiah 65

Commentary

16 notes on this verse
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together - (See the notes at Isa. 11.) And the lion shall eat straw - Shall eat hay or provender like the ox. The food of the lion now is flesh. Changes shall take place as great as if his nature were changed, and he should graze with the herds of the field. See a full illustration of this sentiment from the classic writors in the notes at Isa 11:6. Like the bullock - Or the ox - the cattle that herd together - for so the Hebrew word (בקר bâqâr) means.

This site's exposition

The wolf and the lamb will feed together

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together” takes up the words of 11:6-9. “but the food of the serpent will be dust” recalls the curse at Genesis 3:14. The line “They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain” closes the chapter as 11:9 closed that picture.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Irenaeus

Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 33), Sections 3-4 · Written before 202.

proposed

The predicted blessing, therefore, belongs unquestionably to the times of the kingdom, when the righteous shall bear rule upon their rising from the dead; when also the creation, having been renovated and set free, shall fructify with an abundance of all kinds of food, from the dew of heaven, and from the fertility of the earth: as the elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each true twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters, and on every one of the clusters ten thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed will give five and twenty metretes of wine. And when any one of the saints shall lay hold of a cluster, another shall cry out, "I am a better cluster, take me; bless the Lord through me." In like manner [the Lord declared] that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears, and that every ear should have ten thousand grains, and every grain would yield ten pounds (quinque bilibres) of clear, pure, fine flour; and that all other fruit-bearing trees, and seeds and grass, would produce in similar proportions (secundum congruentiam iis consequentem); and that all animals feeding [only] on the productions of the earth, should [in those days] become peaceful and harmonious among each other, and be in perfect subjection to man. And these things are borne witness to in writing by Papias, the hearer of John, and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book; for there were five books compiled (συντεταγμένα) by him. […]

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25 · Written before 458.

proposed

This is a prediction Isaiah made previously after having announced the growth from the stem of Jesse. Now, we see the fulfillment of this prophecy as rulers and ruled, kings and servants, wise and foolish will share a common table—that is, the teaching of the …

A commentator

Theodoret of Cyrus

COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25 · Written before 458.

proposed

"And the serpent shall eat dust as bread." This is the food that the righteous Judge has assigned to it from the beginning: "On your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat earth all the days of your life." And so Isaiah …

A commentator

Gregory of Elvira

ORIGEN'S TRACTATES ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 5:36 · Written before 392.

proposed

The earth will freely give its produce, and all evil will be removed, just as Isaiah said … for God has refashioned such a world in his kingdom just as it had been made in the beginning before the first-made human being ruined it, who …
The elders who saw John, the disciple of the Lord, related that they had heard from him how the Lord used to teach in regard to these times, and say: The days will come, in which vines shall grow, each having ten thousand branches, and …
9 more voices on this verse

The Church Fathers2 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

Or certainly it must be understood that the devil, who previously fed on the deaths of men, will only devour those who are dust and earth: through which everything demonstrates the transformation of evils into good, those who are innocent will be, with the ancient ferocity abandoned: not outside, but on the holy mountain of the Lord, that is, in the Church, and in the confession of that mountain, from which the prince of Tyre was wounded, and having been cut from the mountain without hands, grew into a great mountain, and filled the world (Daniel 2).

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 25) The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent's food. They shall do no harm, neither shall they kill in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. LXX: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together: the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent shall eat dust like bread. They will not harm or destroy on my holy mountain, says the Lord.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

Fifth, as to the tranquility of peace: the wolf and the lamb, for those who formerly were tyrants and evildoers will abide peacefully with others, above (Isa 11:6) has the same.

The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

And dust - God promises a time of tranquility to his church under the metaphor of serpents eating the dust, their proper meat, Gen. iii, 14, instead of flying upon men: it signifies such a time, when wicked men shall no more eat up the people of God.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

All the enemies of God's church, that are subtle and venomous as serpents, shall be conquered and subdued, and be made to lick the dust, Christ shall reign as Zion's King till all the enemies of his kingdom be made his footstool, and theirs too.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,.... Or, "as one" (k): as if they were one, of the same kind and nature, and lived upon the same food.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

But these things are here prophesied of under the type and figure of the difference God would make between some and others of the Jews after their return out of captivity, between those that feared God and those that did not, with reproofs of the sins then found among them and promises of the blessings then in reserve for them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

He was raised up for this, to show forth God's glory (Ex 9:16; In his unfallen state he may have been God's vicegerent over the earth and the animal kingdom before man: this will account for his assuming the form of a serpent (Ge 3:1). Man succeeded to that office (Ge 2:19, 20), but forfeited it by sin, whence Satan became "prince of this world";

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

The wolf and the lamb, etc. - The glorious salvation which Jesus Christ procures is for men, and for men only: fallen spirits must still abide under the curse: “He took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham.” Shall feed together - For כאחד keechad, as one, an ancient MS. has יחדו yachdav, together; the usual word, to the same sense, but very different in the letters. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate seem to agree with the MSS. - L.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • זְאֵ֨בwolf

    zeevH2061 →

  • וְטָלֶ֜הand lamb

    vetalehH2924 →

  • יִרְע֣וּthey will graze

    yiruH7462 →177 times

  • כְאֶחָ֗דas one

    kheechadH259 →971 times

  • וְאַרְיֵה֙and [the] lion

    vearyehH738 →80 times

  • כַּבָּקָ֣רlike the ox

    kabakarH1241 →183 times

  • יֹֽאכַל־it will eat

    yokhal-H398 →810 times

  • תֶּ֔בֶןstraw

    tevenH8401 →

  • וְנָחָ֖שׁand a snake

    venachashH5175 →31 times

  • עָפָ֣ר[will be] dust

    ʾafarH6083 →110 times

  • לַחְמ֑וֹfood its

    lachmoH3899 →298 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יָרֵ֧עוּthey will do harm

    yareuH7489 →107 times

  • וְלֹֽא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יַשְׁחִ֛יתוּthey will destroy

    yashchituH7843 →146 times

  • בְּכָל־in all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הַ֥ר[the] mountain of

    harH2022 →546 times

  • קָדְשִׁ֖יholiness my

    kodshiH6944 →469 times

  • אָמַ֥רhe says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Micah 4:3

    Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 2:4

      Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…

    • Joel 3:9–16

      Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack!

    • Matthew 25:31–32

      When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.

    • Hosea 2:18

      On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish…

    • Acts 17:31

      For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

  • Through

    Micah 7:17

    They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will crawl from their holes in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 49:23

      Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…

    • Psalms 72:9

      May the nomads bow before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

    • Psalms 18:45

      Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Gregory of Elvira, ORIGEN'S TRACTATES ON THE BOOKS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 5:36; Irenaeus, Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 33), Sections 3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Papias of Hierapolis, Against Heresies (Book V, Chapter 33), Section 4; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.25 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.