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27 On that day, the Eternal One will unsheathe His sword—fierce, great, and strong—and punish the monster of chaos and terror, Leviathan the fleeing serpent. He will strike Leviathan, the twisting serpent, and slay the dragon of the sea.

In that day, O joy, sing out about the vineyard most fruitful.

Eternal One: I, the Eternal One, tend and keep this vineyard;
        I water and guard it day and night,
    Protecting it against any that might wish to harm it.
    I am empty of anger.
        If it produces nasty weeds and thorns,
        I will simply stomp them down and burn them up.
    But let My vineyard look to Me for protection and nurture;
        let it seek My peace;
        let it seek My peace.
    In days to come this people, Jacob, will take root;
        Israel, My promise people, will burst into bloom
    And fill the whole world with fruit to enjoy.

Has God struck Israel as He struck those who struck her?
    Has she been killed as her killers were killed?
By driving her away, You have dealt with her;
    You blew her away with a fierce blast
As when the east wind comes ripping through.
    You sent her away to live as strangers in a foreign land.
In this way, the people descended from Jacob will have their sins forgiven.
    This is how they’ll pay in full the penalty for their wrongdoing—
When God crumbles all the stones of their altars into dust like chalk,
    and when not one of their sacred poles and incense altars is left standing.

10 The city that had been so strong and vibrant
    is isolated and alone, abandoned, a deserted wilderness.
Calves munch through it, lounging around
    and eating whatever twigs dare to shoot up.
11 When the branches are dead and dried and broken,
    women will gather and burn them up.
For these people are foolish and lack understanding,
    so their Creator will not be compassionate toward them.
Though He made them, He will not show them favor.

12 On that day, people of Israel—people of promise—the Eternal will thresh the lands from the Euphrates to the Nile, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, and gather you up one by one. 13 With a great trumpet blast, everyone who was dying in captivity—in Assyria and Egypt—will come to worship the Eternal on the holy mountain that is Jerusalem.

Deliverance of Israel

27 In that day,(A)

the Lord will punish with his sword(B)
    his fierce, great and powerful sword—
Leviathan(C) the gliding serpent,(D)
    Leviathan the coiling serpent;
he will slay the monster(E) of the sea.

In that day(F)

“Sing(G) about a fruitful vineyard:(H)
    I, the Lord, watch over it;
    I water(I) it continually.
I guard(J) it day and night
    so that no one may harm(K) it.
    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.(L)
Or else let them come to me for refuge;(M)
    let them make peace(N) with me,
    yes, let them make peace with me.”

In days to come Jacob will take root,(O)
    Israel will bud and blossom(P)
    and fill all the world with fruit.(Q)

Has the Lord struck her
    as he struck(R) down those who struck her?
Has she been killed
    as those were killed who killed her?
By warfare[a] and exile(S) you contend with her—
    with his fierce blast he drives her out,
    as on a day the east wind(T) blows.
By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(U) for,
    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(V)
When he makes all the altar stones(W)
    to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[b](X) or incense altars(Y)
    will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(Z)
    an abandoned settlement, forsaken(AA) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(AB)
    there they lie down;(AC)
    they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(AD)
    and women come and make fires(AE) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(AF)
    so their Maker has no compassion on them,
    and their Creator(AG) shows them no favor.(AH)

12 In that day the Lord will thresh(AI) from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt,(AJ) and you, Israel, will be gathered(AK) up one by one. 13 And in that day(AL) a great trumpet(AM) will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled(AN) in Egypt(AO) will come and worship(AP) the Lord on the holy mountain(AQ) in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah