Isaiah 7 25

Isaiah 7:25 kjv

And on all hills that shall be digged with the mattock, there shall not come thither the fear of briers and thorns: but it shall be for the sending forth of oxen, and for the treading of lesser cattle.

Isaiah 7:25 nkjv

And to any hill which could be dug with the hoe, You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns; But it will become a range for oxen And a place for sheep to roam.

Isaiah 7:25 niv

As for all the hills once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns; they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.

Isaiah 7:25 esv

And as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not come there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Isaiah 7:25 nlt

No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.

Isaiah 7 verses

Isaiah 7 25 meaning

Isaiah 7:25 describes the profound desolation that will befall the once cultivated highlands of Judah. Areas meticulously prepared and farmed for agriculture, requiring significant human effort with tools like the hoe, will become abandoned and overgrown. These vital productive regions will transform into dangerous, impassable wilderness choked with briers and thorns, rendering them too perilous for human return for cultivation. Consequently, they will serve only as sparse grazing grounds for oxen and sheep, marking a stark decline from organized agriculture to a more primitive, less sustainable land use. This signifies a comprehensive judgment and a dramatic reversal of the people's settled, prosperous existence.

Isaiah 7 25 Context

Isaiah 7 is set during the Syro-Ephraimitic War, around 734-733 BC. King Ahaz of Judah is confronted by a coalition of Rezin of Aram (Syria) and Pekah of Israel (Ephraim) who seek to depose him and install a puppet king. Amidst Ahaz's fear and the divine instruction through Isaiah for him to trust the Lord and not the invading kings, Ahaz refuses a sign from God. Despite this, God provides the sign of Immanuel (vv. 14-16), promising that before a child born will know good from evil, the land of Judah's enemies will be desolated. However, the chapter then shifts to describe the subsequent desolation that will also befall Judah itself due to Ahaz’s lack of faith and reliance on Assyria. The Assyrians, whom Ahaz intended to be an ally against Syria and Israel, would eventually become the instrument of God’s judgment upon Judah. Verses 17-25 vividly portray the comprehensive ruin, turning a productive land back into a wilderness, indicating not only the invasion but also a subsequent socio-economic collapse and depopulation. Isaiah 7:25 specifically details this transformation, where meticulously tended land will be abandoned and become overgrown, reflecting the harsh reality of widespread destruction and the people's inability to maintain their previous way of life.

Isaiah 7 25 Word analysis

• And as for all the hills (וְכֹל הֶֽהָרִים - vechol heharim):
  • כֹּל (chol): "all, every." Signifies the comprehensive nature of the desolation, not just isolated spots but widespread, entire regions.
  • הֶֽהָרִים (heharim): "the hills, the mountains." Refers to the elevated agricultural land in Judah, often terraced and vital for crop production. This was not marginal land but prime farming ground.
  • Significance: Highlights the vast scope of the judgment; even the most diligently cultivated and important areas for food production will be affected.
• that used to be dug with the hoe, (תֵּעָדֵרנה בְּמַֽעְדֵּר - te'adenah bema'der):
  • תֵּעָדֵרנה (te'adenah): From עָדַר (ʿadar), "to hoe, cultivate, dig." Implying active, laborious, and consistent human effort for agricultural productivity. The verbal form here indicates repeated action in the past.
  • בְּמַֽעְדֵּר (bema'der): "with the hoe." The מַעְדֵּר (ma'der) is a digging tool, emphasizing human labor and ordered farming.
  • Significance: Creates a powerful contrast between past careful cultivation and future neglect. This was productive land due to human diligence, now to be abandoned.
• you will not go there (לֹא־תָבוֹא שָׁם - lo tavo sham):
  • לֹא־תָבוֹא (lo tavo): "you shall not come/go." A prohibition or an enforced impossibility, addressing the people directly in the future.
  • שָׁם (sham): "there." Refers back to "all the hills."
  • Significance: Indicates abandonment not out of choice, but out of necessity and danger.
• for fear of briers and thorns, (יִרְאַת שָׁמִיר וָשַׁיִת - yir'at shamir vashayit):
  • יִרְאַת (yir'at): "fear of, dread of." This is key. It's not just that briers make it hard; it's too dangerous to go there. Danger might come from hidden pitfalls, wild animals in the thickets, or bandits using the wilderness for cover.
  • שָׁמִיר וָשַׁיִת (shamir vashayit): "briers and thorns." This is a common Hebrew idiomatic pair in Isaiah (and other prophets) to describe desolation, wilderness, and God's judgment leading to unproductive, hostile ground.
  • Significance: The physical manifestation of judgment turns the productive land into a hazardous, wild wasteland. The return to uncultivated, wild vegetation symbolizes societal decay and human inability to master the land.
• but they will become (וְהָיָה - vehayah):
  • וְהָיָה (vehayah): "and it will be/become." Signals a direct consequence and transformation.
  • Significance: Introduces the new state of the land, demonstrating its changed utility.
• a place for pasturing oxen (לְמִשְׁלַח שׁוֹר - lemishlach shor):
  • לְמִשְׁלַח (lemishlach): "for the sending forth/letting go," i.e., pasture. Indicates grazing.
  • שׁוֹר (shor): "ox, cattle." Larger livestock.
  • Significance: Even in desolation, the land still serves a purpose, but a much more rudimentary one, suitable for only minimal human engagement, shifting from active cultivation to passive grazing.
• and for the trampling of sheep. (וּמִרְמַס צֹֽאן - u'mirmas tson):
  • וּמִרְמַס (u'mirmas): "and a trampling place, a place for crushing/treading." Suggests free movement of animals without specific human management.
  • צֹֽאן (tson): "sheep, flock." Smaller livestock.
  • Significance: The combination with oxen reinforces the shift to extensive, unmanaged grazing. It highlights the reversal from agricultural settlement to a semi-nomadic, survival-based economy.

Words-group analysis:

• All the hills that used to be dug with the hoe: This phrase emphasizes the scale and the historical human effort applied to these lands. These were not naturally wild, but developed agricultural areas. The impending desolation will therefore be a significant loss of productivity and lifestyle.
• You will not go there for fear of briers and thorns: This grouping directly connects the abandonment to a concrete danger, not just overgrown vegetation, but something that instills fear, making the land inaccessible for its former purpose. The shamir vashayit pair often implies a curse or the consequences of covenant disobedience, rendering the land hostile.
• But they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for the trampling of sheep: This paints the final picture of transformation. The land's purpose degenerates from providing food for a settled population through agriculture to simply sustaining livestock through unmanaged grazing. This speaks to a drastically reduced human population, a primitive economy, and the land being taken over by nature in a state of neglected wilderness. It reflects the humbling effect of divine judgment.

Isaiah 7 25 Bonus section

The "briers and thorns" imagery (שָׁמִיר וָשָׁיִת - shamir vashayit) is particularly significant. It first appears as part of the curse on the ground after the Fall (Gen 3:18). Throughout prophetic literature, this pair of terms consistently symbolizes divine judgment, desolation, and the wildness that returns when human order and divine blessing are removed (e.g., Isa 5:6, 9:18, 10:17, 27:4). This particular verse, therefore, casts Judah's desolation not merely as a consequence of war but as a return to a cursed, pre-creation state in terms of its fruitfulness, reminiscent of the untamed wilderness. However, later prophecies, notably Isa 55:13, speak of a future day when, instead of briers and thorns, there will grow fir trees and myrtles, indicating a complete reversal of this curse and a glorious restoration in the Messianic age, a powerful contrast to the bleakness of this present judgment. This immediate judgment in Isaiah 7:25 is thus understood within a larger divine plan that ultimately includes restoration and spiritual renewal.

Isaiah 7 25 Commentary

Isaiah 7:25 serves as a somber illustration of the consequences of Judah’s lack of faith and the divine judgment that would manifest through foreign invasion. The transformation of meticulously cultivated, productive hillsides into impassable wilderness choked with briers and thorns represents a dramatic reversal of fortune and a regression in society. It underscores that human effort and agricultural prosperity are contingent upon God's favor and the people's faithfulness. The shift from structured agriculture to basic livestock grazing symbolizes a severe disruption of the economy and a forced adaptation to a more rudimentary way of life. This imagery is deeply rooted in biblical themes where fruitfulness is a blessing of covenant obedience, and desolation is a result of disobedience and spiritual rebellion. The fear of briers and thorns further highlights the loss of security and the advent of a perilous existence where even formerly tamed land becomes hostile.