Isaiah 27

Isaiah 24–27 is a section concerning judgment upon the whole earth and its restoration, and chapter 27 is its final chapter. The chapter opens with the phrase "in that day," continuing the announcement at the end of Isaiah 26 that the LORD is coming out to punish the inhabitants of the earth.

Outline

• Verse 1 The LORD, with his sore and great and strong sword, punishes Leviathan the piercing serpent, Leviathan the crooked serpent, and slays the dragon that is in the sea.
• Verses 2–6 The song of the "vineyard of red wine." The LORD himself is the keeper of the vineyard, watering it and guarding it night and day. He will burn the briers and thorns that set themselves against him, and he invites them instead to make peace with him. In days to come Jacob will take root and fill the face of the world with fruit.
• Verses 7–9 The LORD's striking of his own people was not like his striking of their enemies; it was a measured chastisement. Jacob's iniquity is purged as the stones of the altar are crushed like chalkstones and the Asherah poles and sun images are removed.
• Verses 10–11 The defenced city becomes desolate, and calves graze there. Because the people have no understanding, the one who made them will not have mercy on them.
• Verses 12–13 The LORD gathers the children of Israel one by one, from the channel of the River to the stream of Egypt. When the great trumpet is blown, those scattered in Assyria and Egypt return and worship in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Key Verses

• Isaiah 27:1 "shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent" — widely cited as a symbol of God's victory over the forces of chaos and evil.
• Isaiah 27:6 "Israel shall blossom and bud" — depicts restoration after judgment as the fruitfulness of a vineyard.
• Isaiah 27:13 "the great trumpet shall be blown" — a scene of the scattered people's return, often read alongside the trumpet imagery of the New Testament.

People and Places

• The LORD: Portrayed as the keeper of the vineyard.
• Leviathan: A creature depicted as a sea serpent or dragon, also mentioned in Job and the Psalms.
• Jacob/Israel: Here refers to the people of Israel as a whole.
• Asherah: A Canaanite goddess; the term can also refer to the wooden poles used in her worship.
• The River: Commonly understood as the Euphrates.
• The stream of Egypt: Generally identified as the wadi marking Israel's southwestern border.
• Assyria, Egypt: Lands to which the people had been scattered.
• Jerusalem: The "holy mount" where the returning people worship.

Points for Reflection

• Chapters 24–27 are also called the "Isaiah Apocalypse." Because they display features of apocalyptic literature, views differ on their date of composition. Critical scholarship tends to regard them as a later addition, while the conservative tradition accepts them as the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah.
• Imagery resembling Leviathan is known to appear in ancient Ugaritic texts. Some interpreters see Leviathan as a symbol of great powers such as Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt. In the Christian tradition it is also associated with "the great dragon... that old serpent" of Revelation 12:9 and read as a picture of the final victory over Satan.
• Verses 2–6 are often read as a song of restoration that contrasts with Isaiah 5:1–7, which pronounces judgment on an unfruitful vineyard.
• The text does not identify the "defenced city" of verse 10. Interpretations therefore vary, with proposals including an enemy city, Samaria, and Jerusalem.
• In Romans 11:27, Paul quotes verse 9 of this chapter, combining it with Isaiah 59:20–21. There is also a tradition that reads the trumpet of verse 13 as an image of the Second Coming, linking it with Matthew 24:30–31 and 1 Corinthians 15:51–52.