Isaiah 27:1-10

Deliverance of Israel

1 In that day, the LORD will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.

2 In that day— “Sing about a fruitful vineyard:

3 I, the LORD, watch over it; I water it continually. I guard it day and night so that no one may harm it.

4 I am not angry. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.

5 Or else let them come to me for refuge; let them make peace with me, yes, let them make peace with me.”

6 In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.

7 Has the LORD struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been killed as those were killed who killed her?

8 By warfare^[a] and exile you contend with her— with his fierce blast he drives her out, as on a day the east wind blows.

9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: When he makes all the altar stones to be like limestone crushed to pieces, no Asherah poles^[b] or incense altars will be left standing.

10 The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.

Isaiah 27:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 27

This chapter refers to the same times as the two foregoing ones Isa 25:1-26:21; and is a continuation of the same song, or rather a new one on the same occasion; it is prophetical of the last times, and of what shall be done in them, as the destruction of the antichristian powers, and Satan at the head of them, Isa 27:1 the happy state of the church, and its fruitfulness under the care and protection of the Lord, and his affection for it, Isa 27:2-4 its peace, prosperity, and flourishing condition, Isa 27:5,6 the nature, use, and end of all its afflictions and chastisements, Isa 27:7-9 the ruin and destruction of the city of Rome, and its inhabitants, and of its whole jurisdiction, Isa 27:10,11 a great gathering and conversion of the Lord's people, both Jews and Gentiles, by the ministry of the Gospel, Isa 27:12,13.

Cross References

• 1. ver 13; S Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 28:5
• 2. S Genesis 3:24; S Deuteronomy 32:41; Isaiah 31:8; Isaiah 34:6; Isaiah 65:12; Isaiah 66:16; Ezekiel 21:3; Nahum 3:15
• 3. S Job 3:8
• 4. Job 26:13
• 5. S Psalms 68:30; S Psalms 74:13; Revelation 12:9
• 6. Isaiah 24:21
• 7. S Isaiah 5:1
• 8. Jeremiah 2:21
• 9. Isaiah 58:11
• 10. S Psalms 91:4; S Isaiah 5:2
• 11. S John 6:39
• 12. S ver 11; S Isaiah 10:17; Matthew 3:12; Hebrews 6:8
• 13. S Isaiah 25:4
• 14. S Job 22:21; S Psalms 119:165; Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:20
• 15. S 2 Kings 19:30; Isaiah 11:10
• 16. S Genesis 40:10; Hosea 14:5-6
• 17. S Psalms 72:16; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 37:31; Ezekiel 17:23; Ezekiel 36:8; Hosea 14:8
• 18. Isaiah 10:26; S Isaiah 11:4; Isaiah 37:36-38
• 19. Isaiah 49:14; Isaiah 50:1; Isaiah 54:7
• 20. S Genesis 41:6
• 21. S Psalms 78:38
• 22. Romans 11:27*
• 23. S Exodus 23:24
• 24. S Exodus 34:13
• 25. S Leviticus 26:30; S 2 Chronicles 14:5
• 26. S Genesis 1:2; S Deuteronomy 13:16; Isaiah 5:6; Isaiah 32:14; Jeremiah 10:22; Jeremiah 26:6; Lamentations 1:4; Lamentations 5:18
• 27. S Isaiah 5:5
• 28. S Isaiah 5:17
• 29. Isaiah 17:2

Footnotes

• [a] See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
• [b] That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah