Isaiah 25 — Dead Sea Scrolls
12 verses • 4 variants • Columns XX–XXI of 1QIsaiah-a
Scroll Overview
Summary
Chapter 25 contains the eschatological banquet (vv. 6-8) and the swallowing up of death — one of the most theologically significant passages in Isaiah. Paul quotes verse 8 in 1 Corinthians 15:54. The 12 verses contain mostly orthographic variants with one theologically significant passage.
Notable Variants
Verse 8 — 'He will swallow up death forever' — is the centerpiece. 1QIsaiah-a preserves this reading identically, confirming the antiquity of the resurrection/death-defeat tradition. Verse 6 has a minor variant in the banquet description.
Scroll Condition
Well preserved; fully legible.
LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things — plans formed long ago, faithful and sure.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 7
For You have turned a city into a heap of stones, a fortified city into a ruin, a palace of foreigners into what is no longer a city — it will never be rebuilt.
Masoretic (WLC)
מָעוֹז
stronghold
Dead Sea Scroll
מעוז
stronghold
Identical consonantal text. God as a stronghold for the poor and needy is described identically. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 8
Therefore a fierce people will honor You; a city of ruthless nations will fear You.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 9
For You have been a fortress for the poor, a fortress for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat — for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 10
As heat in a parched land, You subdue the tumult of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is silenced.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 11
On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of aged wine — rich food full of marrow, aged wine well refined.
Masoretic (WLC)
שְׁמָנִים
rich foods
Dead Sea Scroll
שמנים
rich foods
1QIsaiah-a writes שמנים identically in consonantal form. The eschatological banquet — 'a feast of rich foods, a feast of aged wines' — is preserved in both traditions. The doubled description (shemanim/shemarim, rich foods/aged wines) emphasizes abundance. This is the foundational text for the messianic banquet tradition in Judaism and Christianity.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 12
On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that covers all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 13
He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from every face, and the disgrace of His people He will remove from all the earth — for the LORD has spoken.
Masoretic (WLC)
בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח
He will swallow up death forever
Dead Sea Scroll
בלע המות לנצח
He will swallow up death forever
This verse is one of the most theologically consequential in the Hebrew Bible. 1QIsaiah-a reads בלע המות לנצח — identical to the MT: 'He will swallow up death forever (la-netsach).' The verb billa' ('swallow up') reverses the image of death as a devouring monster — now death itself is devoured. Paul quotes this in 1 Corinthians 15:54 as fulfilled in Christ's resurrection. The continuation — 'and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces' — is also identical in both traditions. The DSS confirm that this death-defeat theology was present in the pre-Christian text, not a later interpolation.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 14
On that day it will be said: "Look — this is our God! We waited for Him, and He saved us. This is the LORD; we waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation!"
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XX, line 15
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, and Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trampled in a dung pit.
Masoretic (WLC)
הַר
mountain
Dead Sea Scroll
הר
mountain
Identical consonantal text. The 'hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain' — Zion as the place of divine presence — is preserved identically. No impact on meaning.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXI, line 1
Moab will spread out his hands in the midst of it as a swimmer spreads his hands to swim, but God will bring down his pride along with the skill of his hands.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXI, line 2
The high fortification of your walls He has brought down, laid low, cast to the ground — to the dust.
No significant variant. The scroll reads identically to the MT here.
1QIsaᵃ col. XXI, line 3