Isaiah 25

A Feast on the Mountain, and Death Swallowed Up

The Lord prepares a banquet for all peoples, removes the veil over the nations, swallows up death, and wipes away every tear.

A vision of the Millennium and the resurrection Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

Where we are

Chapter 24 ended with the Lord reigning gloriously on Mount Zion. Chapter 25 is the song of the redeemed who live under that reign. It begins as a personal hymn of thanksgiving (verses 1–5) and then opens into one of the most beautiful promises in scripture: a great feast on “this mountain” for all people, the removal of the veil of mourning over the nations, and the end of death itself (verses 6–9).

This chapter echoes widely. Paul quotes verse 8 in his great chapter on the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:54). John borrows verse 8 twice in Revelation (Rev. 7:17; Rev. 21:4). And the Lord quoted verse 6 in a revelation to the Saints in Missouri in 1831 (D&C 58:8–11).

The thread through the chapter

Isaiah 25 is built around one mountain and three things that happen on it.

The key phrase is “in this mountain,” repeated three times (verses 6, 7, 10). The mountain is Zion, the mountain of the Lord’s house from Isa. 2:2–3, where all nations flow.

First, a feast (verse 6). The Lord Himself is the host, and the guest list is “all people.” The menu is the best food imaginable in the ancient world: rich meats full of marrow and aged, refined wine. It’s a royal banquet, and everyone is invited.

Second, the veil is removed (verse 7). A “covering” and a “veil” are spread over all nations. It is probably the shroud of mourning, the cloth mourners wrapped over their faces. The Lord will destroy it.

Third, death is swallowed (verse 8). Throughout the ancient world, Death was pictured as a monster with an enormous mouth that swallowed everyone. Isaiah used that image in Isa. 5:14. Now the tables are turned: “He will swallow up death in victory.” The swallower is swallowed. And then, the tenderest line in the chapter: “the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces.”

The people’s response is simple: “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us” (verse 9).

The chapter answers the chaos of chapter 24 with the ultimate reversal. The world ended in a city of chaos with its wine gone bitter (Isa. 24:7–11). The Lord’s world begins with wine “well refined” at His own table.

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its verse.

Verses 1–5

A song of thanksgiving

In plain words

Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You and praise Your name, because You have done wonderful things, plans You made long ago, faithful and sure. You have turned the city into a heap of rubble and the fortified town into a ruin. The foreigners’ fortress is no longer a city and will never be rebuilt. So strong peoples will honor You, and the cities of ruthless nations will revere You. You have been a refuge for the poor, a shelter for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and shade from the heat. The breath of the ruthless is like a storm beating against a wall, like heat in a dry land. You silence the uproar of foreigners. As the shade of a cloud cools the heat, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.

1 O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; .

2 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 Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, , when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

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.

Verses 6–9

The feast, the veil, and the end of death

In plain words

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will prepare a feast for all peoples: a banquet of rich food and aged wine, the best meats and the finest wines. On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples, the veil spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. In that day they will say, “Look, this is our God! We waited for Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord; we waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

6 And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make , of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

Restoration Insight #

A feast of fat things

In the ancient world, “fat things” and “marrow” meant the richest, choicest food. “Wines on the lees” were wines left to age on their sediment, which gave them strength and flavor, and then strained (“well refined”). This is a king’s banquet, and the Lord is the host.

The Lord quoted this verse in a revelation given in Missouri in August 1831. He said the Saints had been sent there “that a feast of fat things might be prepared for the poor; yea, a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined… Yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited” (D&C 58:8–9). He then explained the invitation order: first the rich and learned, then “the poor, the lame, and the blind, and the deaf” (D&C 58:10–11).

This feast is the gospel itself, and ultimately the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Rev. 19:9; D&C 65:3; Matt. 22:1–10). Every sacrament meeting is a small foretaste of it.

7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and .

Restoration Insight #

The veil removed

The “covering” and “veil” spread over all nations is most likely the shroud of mourning. Mourners covered their faces (2 Sam. 15:30; 2 Sam. 19:4). Since verse 8 goes on to speak of death and tears, the veil seems to be the grief that hangs over every people because of death.

Scripture uses the image of a veil in several related ways. Paul wrote that a veil lies over the heart when the old covenant is read, but “when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away” (2 Cor. 3:14–16). Moroni spoke of “that veil of unbelief” that keeps people from seeing (Ether 4:15). The Lord promised that “the veil of darkness shall soon be rent” (D&C 38:8), and that at His coming “the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together” (D&C 101:23). Whatever veil separates us from God and from each other, He will remove it.

8 ; and ; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Witness of Christ #

The swallower swallowed

In ancient Near Eastern mythology, Death (Mot, in Canaanite poetry) was a monster with a vast throat who swallowed every living thing. Isaiah pictured Sheol opening its mouth “without measure” in Isa. 5:14. Now the Lord turns the image around: He swallows death. The Hebrew literally says “forever” (lanetsach); “in victory” comes from the Greek translation that Paul followed.

Paul quoted this verse as the climax of his chapter on the resurrection: “then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54–55). Abinadi taught the same: “there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ” (Mosiah 16:8; see Alma 22:14; Morm. 7:5).

This is fulfilled through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because He rose, all will rise (1 Cor. 15:22; Alma 11:42–44).

9 And it shall be said in that day, : this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Verses 10–12

Moab brought low

In plain words

The Lord’s hand will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled down like straw trampled in a manure pit. Moab will spread out its hands in the middle of it, like a swimmer stretching out to swim, but the Lord will bring down its pride despite all its efforts. He will bring down its high fortified walls and throw them to the ground, into the dust.

10 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 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, : and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.

12 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.

Seeing Christ in Isaiah 25

Isaiah 25 is full of Jesus Christ. He is the Host of the feast that the Doctrine and Covenants calls “a supper of the house of the Lord… unto which all nations shall be invited” (D&C 58:9). He is the one who removes the veil so all flesh can see Him (D&C 101:23). He swallows up death by His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:54; Mosiah 16:8). He wipes away tears from every face (Rev. 21:4). And He is the One the redeemed point to and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us.”

The feast of this chapter is the marriage supper of the Lamb, and each time we take the sacrament, we have a small place at that table.

Liken it to yourself

Who in my life is still under the “veil” of grief or unbelief? How might I help the Lord lift it?
Verse 8’s promise is about the end, but the Lord also wipes away tears now. When have I felt Him do that?
What “fat things” has the Lord set before me in the gospel that I leave untouched: temple worship, scripture, the sacrament, prayer?
Verse 9 says, “we have waited for him.” What am I waiting on the Lord for right now? Can I wait in the confidence of that verse?

Worth exploring next

The feast. Read Isaiah 25:6–9 with D&C 58:6–12, Matt. 22:1–14, Luke 14:15–24, and Rev. 19:6–9.
Death swallowed. Compare Isa. 5:14, Isa. 25:8, 1 Cor. 15:51–57, and Mosiah 16:6–11.
Recognition. Read D&C 45:47–53 and 3 Ne. 11:8–17. How do they fulfill “Lo, this is our God”?

This chapter elsewhere in scripture

1 Cor. 15:54 — Paul quotes verse 8.
Rev. 21:4 — John echoes verse 8.
D&C 58:8–11 — The Lord quotes verse 6 about the feast of fat things.

Sources & further reading

Chapter 15: Prophecies of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times (Isaiah 24–35), Old Testament Student Manual: 1 Kings–Malachi (2003).
Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1998.
John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah, New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1986–1998.
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997.

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