Isaiah27
New King James Version
1In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
2In that day sing to her, “A vineyard of red wine!
3I, the Lord, keep it, I water it every moment; Lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day.
4Fury is not in Me. Who would set briers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5Or let him take hold of My strength, That he may make peace with Me; And he shall make peace with Me.”
6Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit.
7Has He struck Israel as He struck those who struck him? Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
8In measure, by sending it away, You contended with it. He removes it by His rough wind In the day of the east wind.
9Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered; And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: When he makes all the stones of the altar Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust, Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10Yet the fortified city will be desolate, The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down And consume its branches.
11When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; The women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, And He who formed them will show them no favor.
12And it shall come to pass in that day That the Lord will thresh, From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.
13So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 27.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God's care over his people. (1-5). A promise of their recall to Divine favour. (6-13).
vv1-5
The Lord Jesus with his strong sword, the virtue of his death, and the preaching of his gospel, does and will destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, that old serpent. The world is a fruitless, worthless wilderness; but the church is a vineyard, a place that has great care taken of it, and from which precious fruits are gathered. God will keep it in the night of affliction and persecution, and in the day of peace and prosperity, the temptations of which are not less dangerous. God also takes care of the fruitfulness of this vineyard. We need the continual waterings of Divine grace; if these be at any time withdrawn, we wither, and come to nothing. Though God sometimes contends with his people, yet he graciously waits to be reconciled unto them. It is true, when he finds briers and thorns instead of vines, and they are set in array against him, he will tread them down and burn them. Here is a summary of the doctrine of the gospel, with which the church is to be watered every moment. Ever since sin first entered, there has been, on God's part, a righteous quarrel, but, on man's part, most unrighteous. Here is a gracious invitation given. Pardoning mercy is called the power of our Lord; let us take hold on that. Christ crucified is the power of God. Let us by lively faith take hold on his strength who is a strength to the needy, believing there is no other name by which we can be saved, as a man that is sinking catches hold of a bough, or cord, or plank, that is in his reach. This is the only way, and it is a sure way, to be saved. God is willing to be reconciled to us.
vv6-13
In the days of the gospel, the latter days, the gospel church shall be more firmly fixed than the Jewish church, and shall spread further. May our souls be continually watered and kept, that we may abound in the fruits of the Spirit, in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. The Jews yet are kept a separate and a numerous people; they have not been rooted out as those who slew them. The condition of that nation, through so many ages, forms a certain proof of the Divine origin of the Scriptures; and the Jews live amongst us, a continued warning against sin. But though winds are ever so rough, ever so high, God can say to them, Peace, be still. And though God will afflict his people, yet he will make their afflictions to work for the good of their souls. According to this promise, since the captivity in Babylon, no people have shown such hatred to idols and idolatry as the Jews. And to all God's people, the design of affliction is to part between them and sin. The affliction has done us good, when we keep at a distance from the occasions of sin, and use care that we may not be tempted to it. Jerusalem had been defended by grace and the Divine protection; but when God withdrew, she was left like a wilderness. This has awfully come to pass. And this is a figure of the deplorable state of the vineyard, the church, when it brought forth wild grapes. Sinners flatter themselves they shall not be dealt with severely, because God is merciful, and is their Maker. We see how weak those pleas will be. Verses 12,13, seem to predict the restoration of the Jews after the Babylonish captivity, and their recovery from their present dispersion. This is further applicable to the preaching of the gospel, by which sinners are gathered into the grace of God; the gospel proclaims the acceptable year of the Lord. Those gathered by the sounding of the gospel trumpet, are brought in to worship God, and added to the church; and the last trumpet will gather the saints together.
Key Words
יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
קָשֶׁה: severe (in various applications)
גָּדוֹל: great (in any sense); hence, older; also insolent
חָזָק: strong (usu. in a bad sense, hard, bold, violent)
חֶרֶב: drought; also a cutting instrument (from its destructive effect), as a knife, sword, or other sharp implement
פָּקַד: to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.
לִוְיָתָן: a wreathed animal, i.e. a serpent (especially the crocodile or some other large sea-monster); figuratively, the constellation of the dragon; also as a symbol of Babylon
בָּרִיחַ: a fugitive, i.e. the serpent (as fleeing), and the constellation by that name
נָחָשׁ: a snake (from its hiss)
עֲקַלָּתוֹן: tortuous
Cross References
Isaiah 27Satan as the great dragon and ancient serpent defeated, the ultimate fulfillment of punishing Leviathan.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin, JFB
The parallel song of the vineyard, though here restored rather than rejected.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Israel depicted as a vine brought out of Egypt, kept and watered by God.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Exhortation to make peace with God by submitting to His strength and reconciling.
Supported by JFB
Pharaoh king of Egypt described as the great dragon that lies in the rivers.
Supported by JFB
How believers obtain peace with God through Christ, our strength and refuge.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
God corrects His people in measure, unlike the total destruction of their enemies.
Supported by JFB
The trumpet of jubilee, signifying release of outcasts and restoration of inheritance.
Supported by JFB
Literal description of the sea monster Leviathan, used here metaphorically for hostile powers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Israel shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots like Lebanon.
Supported by JFB
Unbelieving Jewish branches broken off the olive tree, parallel to withered branches burned.
Supported by JFB
The ideal boundaries of Israel's inheritance from the river Euphrates to the river of Egypt.
Supported by JFB
Israel's fullness bringing spiritual riches and fruit to the whole world.
Supported by JFB
A purged Israel no longer looks to the altars, groves, or images.
Supported by JFB
Israel described as a nation void of counsel and lacking understanding.
Supported by JFB
The historical exile of Israel to Assyria, from where they are promised return.
Supported by Matthew Henry
God's arm cutting Rahab and wounding the dragon in Egypt's defeat.
Jesus Christ as the true vine, with God as the keeper of the vineyard.
The sons of Belial compared to thorns that must be burned with fire.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Taking hold of the horns of the altar for protection and mercy.
Supported by JFB