Isaiah 27

This final chapter of the Isaiah Apocalypse depicts the punishment of the leviathan—the chaos monster representing cosmic rebellion and evil—and the establishment of God's vineyard characterized by protection and flourishing. The oracle announces that the Lord will visit and punish the serpent and all chaos powers, establishing divine dominion over all forces that oppose God's order. The passage promises that the Lord will guard His vineyard, watering it every moment and keeping all who would harm it at bay, a vision of divine protection for the covenant community. The image of the vineyard bearing fruit and covering the earth establishes that God's purposes will ultimately flourish and extend to encompass all creation. The prophecy promises the restoration of Jacob and the ingathering of the scattered remnant from Egypt, Assyria, and other lands, emphasizing that divine salvation includes both judgment and restoration. The promise that a great trumpet will be blown and that the lost will return from exile establishes that the judgment of the Isaiah Apocalypse is not final but purposive, leading toward renewal and gathering. The chapter also includes a cryptic reference to making atonement for the iniquity of Jacob, suggesting that divine justice operates through a process that includes both judgment and reconciliation. Isaiah 27 demonstrates that the vision of cosmic renewal encompasses the restoration of God's people and the re-creation of a world characterized by harmony and flourishing. This chapter concludes the Isaiah Apocalypse with a vision of triumph and establishes the eschatological hope that sustains the latter portions of Isaiah.

Isaiah 27:1

In that day the LORD with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea, establishing that final salvation includes God's destruction of cosmic evil represented by Leviathan and the dragon, forces of chaos and rebellion that have opposed God's purposes. The Leviathan imagery, drawn from ancient Near Eastern mythology and used in Job and the Psalms, represents the ultimate expression of chaos and resistance to God's order. The multiple descriptions—fleeing, twisted—suggest the nature of evil as evasive and corrupted. The destruction of Leviathan represents the final victory of God's order over chaos, the complete restoration of creation to its intended purpose. This verse connects personal and corporate salvation to cosmic salvation, establishing that God's redemptive work encompasses all creation.

Isaiah 27:2

In that day sing about a vineyard of wine! "I, the LORD, am its keeper; I water it every moment; so that no one will damage it, I guard it night and day, establishing that the vineyard of Israel becomes God's exclusive possession and the object of God's constant care and protection. The song about the vineyard celebrates the restoration of Israel to its proper relationship with God, as God's beloved possession and the object of God's solicitude. The imagery of watering and guarding suggests the constant providential care that Israel receives from God. The protection night and day emphasizes the totality of God's vigilance. The vine imagery connects to the Creation account and to the covenant promises, suggesting that the restored Israel represents the realization of God's original intentions for creation.

Isaiah 27:3

I guard it night and day so that none can damage it; I have no wrath against it. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them, I would burn them completely together, establishing God's perfect goodwill toward the redeemed vineyard and the willingness to destroy any opposition to it. The assertion of no wrath against the vineyard suggests the complete reconciliation that salvation accomplishes. The hypothetical—if only there were enemies to destroy—expresses God's protective stance: any who threaten the vineyard would immediately encounter God's judgment. The burning of thorns suggests the destruction of obstacles and hindrances. This verse emphasizes that salvation includes not merely the ending of God's judgment against the redeemed but the active opposition of God to any threat against them.

Isaiah 27:4

Or let it take hold of My strength, that it may make peace with Me; yes, let it make peace with Me, emphasizing that peace—reconciliation between God and the redeemed vineyard—is the ultimate goal and culmination of salvation. The taking hold of God's strength suggests the drawing upon divine resources for security and sustenance. The making of peace—repeated for emphasis—represents the resolution of the conflict between God and the rebellious and the establishment of right relationship. This verse suggests that the restored covenant relationship is characterized by peace, by the cessation of enmity and the establishment of harmony. The simplicity and directness of the affirmation contrasts with the preceding verses' focus on destruction, suggesting that destruction serves only to clear the way for peace.

Isaiah 27:5

Or else let it come and take hold of My strength, that it may make peace with Me; yes, let it make peace with Me, repeating the preceding verse for emphasis and establishing the centrality of the peace-making that salvation accomplishes. The repetition suggests the importance of this affirmation: peace is not merely one benefit of salvation but its culmination and essence. The alternative of taking hold of God's strength and making peace establishes that the way of salvation is open even to those who have been resistant, that God continually holds out the possibility of reconciliation. This verse emphasizes that the ultimate division is not between Israel and the nations but between those who accept God's invitation to peace and those who refuse it.

Isaiah 27:6

In the days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will blossom and bud; and they will fill the whole world with fruit, establishing that the restored Israel will flourish and become fruitful, extending its influence and blessing throughout creation. The imagery of rooting and blooming suggests secure establishment and flourishing life. The filling of the world with fruit suggests not territorial expansion but spiritual and moral influence, the spread of justice, righteousness, and blessing. The transformation from the uprooted and scattered people of exile to those who take root and flourish represents the reversal that salvation accomplishes. This verse expresses optimism about Israel's future prominence and influence, establishing that the remnant that has endured judgment will become a source of blessing to all creation.

Isaiah 27:7

Has He smitten him as He smote those who smote him? Or has he been slain according to the slaughter of his slayers, establishing that Israel's suffering under judgment is measured and proportional, not equivalent to the destruction visited upon those who had afflicted Israel. The question form suggests that the answer is no: Israel's judgment, while real, has been less severe than the judgment of the nations that had oppressed it. The distinction between Israel's judgment and that of the nations establishes that God's purposes for the two are different: judgment against Israel serves purification; judgment against the nations serves their destruction. This verse articulates the belief that God's relationship to Israel is unique and that Israel's suffering, while real, is not equivalent to the destruction it brings upon its enemies.

Isaiah 27:8

By measure, when it shoots forth, You will contend with it; He will remove it by His rough wind in the day of the east wind, establishing that God's judgment against Israel is calibrated and measured, removed through divine action just as it was imposed. The imagery of measuring and shooting forth suggests careful regulation and purposeful direction. The removal by God's rough wind suggests the active reversal of judgment, the clearing away of what had obscured Israel's restoration. The east wind—often destructive in the ancient Near East—here becomes the agent of God's judgment and its removal. This verse assures that Israel's judgment, while real, is neither eternal nor absolute, that God's purposes for Israel include both judgment and restoration.

Isaiah 27:9

Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the altar stones like chalk stones crushed to powder, when no Asherim or incense altars will stand, establishing that Israel's restoration includes the removal of idolatry and the purification of worship. The destruction of altar stones and idolatrous apparatus represents the elimination of the false worship that occasioned judgment. The making of stones like powder suggests complete destruction and the impossibility of rebuilding. The removal of Asherim—sacred poles representing the goddess Asherah—and incense altars represents the purification of the cult from false elements. This verse establishes that restoration is not merely military or political but fundamentally spiritual, involving the return to exclusive worship of the true God.

Isaiah 27:10

For the fortified city is isolated, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf will graze, and there it will lie down and consume its branches, establishing that the destruction of the fortified city—perhaps Samaria or another city of the Northern Kingdom—leads to its abandonment and return to wilderness. The desolation imagery suggests the reversal of civilization, the return of human habitation to wild nature. The grazing calf suggests that what had been a center of human pride becomes feeding ground for beasts. The consumption of branches suggests that vegetation returns to what had been the city's site. This verse uses the imagery of desolation to suggest both the totality of judgment and the return of creation to its wild state when human civilization abandons covenant faith.

Isaiah 27:11

When its branches are withered, they are broken off; women come and set them on fire, for it is not a people of discernment; therefore He who made them will not have compassion on them, and He who formed them will not be gracious to them, establishing that those who lack understanding and discernment and therefore resist God's purposes face judgment without mercy. The withering and breaking of branches suggests the destruction of what had appeared vital and strong. The burning of branches—perhaps representing the gathering and burning of what remains—suggests the completion of destruction. The absence of compassion and grace toward those lacking discernment establishes that mercy is not universal but is reserved for those who seek God and embrace covenant faith.

Isaiah 27:12

In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing of the River to the Wadi of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, O sons of Israel, establishing that salvation will involve the gathering of Israel from exile, from all the far reaches of the promised land and beyond, into a unified community. The threshing imagery suggests both the separation of the valuable from the chaff and the gathering of what has been dispersed. The flowing of the River to the Wadi of Egypt represents the full extent of the promised land, suggesting that scattered Israel will be regathered within the bounds of covenant territory. The gathering one by one emphasizes the totality and precision of God's redemptive work, that no member of the faithful remnant will be lost. This verse looks forward to the fulfillment of the promise of return from exile.

Isaiah 27:13

And it will come about in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria will come, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt will worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem, establishing that salvation culminates in the return of the exiled and scattered, in their journey to Jerusalem, and in their worship of the LORD in the holy sanctuary. The great trumpet signals the call to gathering and the opening of a new era. The perishing in Assyria and outcasts in Egypt represent those scattered by the great powers of the ancient Near East, yet God's call reaches them all. The worship of the LORD on the holy mountain represents the restoration of right relationship and the reestablishment of covenant community. This verse concludes the Isaiah Apocalypse by envisioning the ingathering of all Israel and the restoration of worship in Zion.