The Meaning of Isaiah 65:25 Explained

Isaiah 65:25

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.

YLT: Wolf and lamb do feed as one, And a lion as an ox eateth straw, As to the serpent -- dust is its food, They do no evil, nor destroy, In all My holy mountain, said Jehovah!

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

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.

Discover Isaiah 65:25

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 65:25?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 65:25 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 65:25 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 65:25?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 65:25 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Another cause of present weeping that will end is nature, which is sometimes harmful. In the future, it will not be harmful because the effects of the Fall will have been erased. Nature will no longer be man"s enemy. The Lord"s curse on the snake, which has only been fulfilled figuratively so far-snakes do not literally feed on dust now but on plants and animals-will find complete fulfillment (cf. Genesis 3:14). Chisholm believed that Isaiah was not alluding to Genesis 3:14 here but was simply using the serpent as another illustration of an animal that formerly posed a danger but would not in the future. [1] This verse is a hint that the change will come because of the "seed of the woman" described earlier in Isaiah as the Servant, Messiah (cf. Isaiah 11:6-9).
"The only point in the whole of the new creation where there is no change (cf. Isaiah 65:20 fg [2]) is in the curse pronounced on sin, which still stands (cf. Genesis 3:14)." [3]
No evil or harm will come to anyone or anything in all God"s holy kingdom (cf. Isaiah 66:22). Watts interpreted this change as indicating only the absence of violence that would follow the Jews" return to their land after the Exile. [4] However, this is hardly the picture of life in Jerusalem and Judah that the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah paint.
"But to what part of the history of salvation are we to look for a place for the fulfillment of such prophecies as these of the state of peace prevailing in nature around the church, except in the millennium?" [5]
Delitzsch believed in an earthly Millennium. He distinguished himself from "anti-millenarians" and "antichiliasts." [6] But he also believed that some of the prophecies regarding Israel"s future blessings have found fulfillment in the church, whereas some will yet find fulfillment in Israel.
Isaiah revealed several new things for Jerusalem in this section. Joy would replace weeping and crying ( Isaiah 65:18-19). Longevity would replace sorrow and death ( Isaiah 65:20-23). Answered prayer would replace God"s previous silence ( Isaiah 65:24). And universal peace would replace violence ( Isaiah 65:25). [7]
The kingdom in view in this passage, and in chapter66 , is not just the millennial kingdom. It is the kingdom that God will bring into existence through the redemptive work of His Servant. Since the King has come, some features of this kingdom are present in the world today. But since the King has yet to come to accomplish fully His work of redemption, many features described here will be seen after His second advent. Part of these changes will take place on this earth during the Millennium. Other changes will happen when the Lord creates completely new heavens and a new earth ( Revelation 21:1). How do we know that all that Isaiah predicted is not fulfilled in the present age through the church, or in the Millennium, or in the eternal state? The New Testament provides a more specific description of which of these promises will be fulfilled when and in what ways.
"The prophet appears, therefore, to refer to that Jerusalem, which is represented in the Apocalypse as coming down from heaven to earth after the transformation of the globe. But to this it may be replied, that the Old Testament prophet was not yet able to distinguish from one another the things which the author of the Apocalypse separates into distinct periods." [8]

Context Summary

Isaiah 65:13-25 - A New Earth For God's Servants
Notice the wide difference that religion makes to the soul. The children of God are secured against the evils which visit all others. They eat; they drink; they rejoice; they sing; they are called by another name, Isaiah 65:13-15.
Behold a new creation, Isaiah 65:17-25! The present dispensation is ended. Jerusalem, restored to her former glory, sings for very joy; and her rejoicing sends a thrill of joy through the nature of God. Long years of life and security of tenure are granted again to man. The red rapine of the forest is ended, for creation is emancipated from its bondage and participates in the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Peace shall reign in the forest glades, never again to abdicate her throne, Isaiah 65:25. But, best of all, there shall be such unity between man and God that prayer will be anticipated, and the pleading soul shall be conscious of the listening ear of God. Hasten, O day of days, for which creation groans, and the saints groan with inexpressible desire! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 65

1  The calling of the Gentiles,
2  and the rejection of the Jews, for their incredulity, idolatry, and hypocrisy
8  A remnant shall be saved
11  Judgments on the wicked, and blessings on the godly
17  The blessed state of the new Jerusalem

What do the individual words in Isaiah 65:25 mean?

The wolf and the lamb shall feed as one and the lion like the ox shall eat straw and serpent's dust [shall be] the food Not they shall hurt nor destroy in all mountain My holy says Yahweh -
זְאֵ֨ב וְטָלֶ֜ה יִרְע֣וּ כְאֶחָ֗ד וְאַרְיֵה֙ כַּבָּקָ֣ר יֹֽאכַל־ תֶּ֔בֶן וְנָחָ֖שׁ עָפָ֣ר לַחְמ֑וֹ לֹֽא־ יָרֵ֧עוּ וְלֹֽא־ יַשְׁחִ֛יתוּ בְּכָל־ הַ֥ר קָדְשִׁ֖י אָמַ֥ר יְהוָֽה ס

זְאֵ֨ב  The  wolf 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זְאֵב  
Sense: wolf.
וְטָלֶ֜ה  and  the  lamb 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טָלֶה  
Sense: lamb.
יִרְע֣וּ  shall  feed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
כְאֶחָ֗ד  as  one 
Parse: Preposition-k, Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
וְאַרְיֵה֙  and  the  lion 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲרִי 
Sense: lion.
כַּבָּקָ֣ר  like  the  ox 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּקָר  
Sense: cattle, herd, oxen, ox.
יֹֽאכַל־  shall  eat 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
תֶּ֔בֶן  straw 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: תֶּבֶן  
Sense: straw, stubble.
וְנָחָ֖שׁ  and  serpent's 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נָחָשׁ  
Sense: serpent, snake.
עָפָ֣ר  dust  [shall  be] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָפָר  
Sense: dry earth, dust, powder, ashes, earth, ground, mortar, rubbish.
לַחְמ֑וֹ  the  food 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.
יָרֵ֧עוּ  they  shall  hurt 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מֵרֵעַ 
Sense: to be bad, be evil.
וְלֹֽא־  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יַשְׁחִ֛יתוּ  destroy 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁחַת  
Sense: to destroy, corrupt, go to ruin, decay.
בְּכָל־  in  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַ֥ר  mountain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
קָדְשִׁ֖י  My  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
אָמַ֥ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָֽה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 65:25?

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