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Isaiah 27:9-11
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Isaiah 27:9-11
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:
when he makes all the stones of the altars
like chalkstones crushed to pieces,
no sacred poles[a] or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city is solitary,
a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;
the calves graze there,
there they lie down, and strip its branches.
11 When its boughs are dry, they are broken;
women come and make a fire of them.
For this is a people without understanding;
therefore he that made them will not have compassion on them,
he that formed them will show them no favour.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 27:9 Heb Asherim
Isaiah 27:9-11
New King James Version
Isaiah 27:9-11
New King James Version
9 Therefore 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,
[a]Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10 Yet the fortified city will be (A)desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For (B)it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will (C)not have mercy on them,
And (D)He who formed them will show them no favor.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 27:9 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
Isaiah 27:9-11
New English Translation
Isaiah 27:9-11
New English Translation
9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven,[a]
and this is how they will show they are finished sinning:[b]
They will make all the stones of the altars[c]
like crushed limestone,
and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand.[d]
10 For the fortified city[e] is left alone;
it is a deserted settlement
and abandoned like the wilderness.
Calves[f] graze there;
they lie down there
and eat its branches bare.[g]
11 When its branches get brittle,[h] they break;
women come and use them for kindling.[i]
For these people lack understanding,[j]
therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;
the one who formed them has no mercy on them.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 27:9 tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”
- Isaiah 27:9 tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a textual variation of an original לְכַפֵּר (lekhapper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).
- Isaiah 27:9 tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.
- Isaiah 27:9 sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.
- Isaiah 27:10 sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27, ” HAR 10 (1986), 332.
- Isaiah 27:10 tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.
- Isaiah 27:10 tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.
- Isaiah 27:11 tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 27:11 tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried-up branches that is only good for firewood.
- Isaiah 27:11 tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”
Isaiah 27:9-11
New International Version
Isaiah 27:9-11
New International Version
9 By this, then, will Jacob’s guilt be atoned(A) for,
and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:(B)
When he makes all the altar stones(C)
to be like limestone crushed to pieces,
no Asherah poles[a](D) or incense altars(E)
will be left standing.
10 The fortified city stands desolate,(F)
an abandoned settlement, forsaken(G) like the wilderness;
there the calves graze,(H)
there they lie down;(I)
they strip its branches bare.
11 When its twigs are dry, they are broken off(J)
and women come and make fires(K) with them.
For this is a people without understanding;(L)
so their Maker has no compassion on them,
and their Creator(M) shows them no favor.(N)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New English Translation (NET)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.