Isaiah 7:25 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 7:25 mean?

Isaiah 7:25 describes how, on every hill that people once worked with tools, there will no longer be fear of overgrown briers and thorns; instead, these places will be used for grazing oxen and sheep. The verse is picturing a change in how the land is used after hardship or judgment.

Isaiah is speaking to the people of Judah during a time of warning about coming devastation. The verse follows a section where Isaiah describes how once-cultivated land will become wild and overgrown because of neglect. Here, he notes that even the hills that were once carefully dug with a mattock (a kind of hoe) will not be dangerous with thorns anymore, but will be open pasture for livestock, showing a shift from farming to grazing due to the land’s changed condition.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 7:25

• "hills" (הָרִים, harim): This word refers to elevated land or hills, emphasizing that even the more difficult, less fertile areas that people once worked hard to cultivate are included in this picture.
• "digged" (עֵדֵר, eider): This word means to work or break up ground, often with a tool. It highlights the effort people once put into making these hills productive.
• "mattock" (מַעְדֵּרָה, ma'derah): A mattock is a digging tool, showing that the land was once intensively farmed.
• "fear" (יִרְאָה, yirah): This word means fear or dread, here referring to the worry about briers and thorns taking over abandoned land.
• "briers" (שָׁמִיר, shamir) and "thorns" (שַׁיִת, shayit): These words both refer to wild, thorny plants that make land unusable for farming, symbolizing neglect or judgment.
• "oxen" (שׁוֹר, shor) and "cattle" (צֹאן, tson): These words point to livestock, showing the land’s new use as pasture rather than cropland.

Why Isaiah 7:25 matters

• Isaiah 7:25 clarifies that the devastation coming on Judah will be so complete that even land once carefully farmed will no longer be used for crops, but only for grazing animals.
• The verse helps the reader see the seriousness of the judgment Isaiah is describing: cultivated land returning to wilderness and then being used only for pasture is a sign of lost prosperity.
• This verse connects to the wider passage by showing the reversal of fortune for the people—what was once valuable farmland will become common grazing land, underlining the consequences of turning away from God.