Isaiah 27

1 In that day [before the final judgment, a future time] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] will take His sharp [severe, cruel], great [mighty, powerful], and mighty [strong, intense] sword, and bring judgment [punishment, reckoning] on Leviathan [a massive sea creature] the fleeing [swift, elusive] serpent—Leviathan [twisted monster] the coiling [crooked, tortuous] serpent—and He will slay [kill, destroy] the dragon [a sea monster] of the sea [the vast ocean, the deep]. word study 2 In that day [before all time, from the very first]: “Sing about a fruitful [desirable, beautiful] vineyard [of red wine, a garden of delight]. word study 3 I, the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], am its keeper [watching over, guarding]; I water [give drink, nourish] it continually [every moment, without ceasing]. I guard [watch, protect] it night [the time of darkness, adversity] and day [a period of light, opportunity] so no one can disturb [harm, hurt] it; word study 4 I am not angry [without wrath or rage]. If only thorns [shamir, sharp thorns] and briers [thorny shrubs, a thornbush] confronted Me, I would march [step forward, advance] and trample them, I would burn [set on fire, consume] them to the ground [together, in unity]. word study 5 Or [as an alternative, or if] let them lay claim to My [divine] protection [security, stronghold]; let them make [establish, bring about] peace [shalom, completeness and wellness] with Me [in harmony, friendship]— yes, let them make [cultivate, maintain] peace [wholeness, friendship] with Me.” word study 6 In the days to come [in the future, at a later time], Jacob [the descendant of Abraham, having God’s promise] will take root [be firmly established, flourish]. Israel [the people of God, descendants of Jacob] will bud [begin to grow, sprout] and blossom [flourish, bloom] and fill [make full, complete] the whole world [the earth, all nations] with fruit [the produce of the earth, spiritual abundance]. word study 7 Has the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] struck Israel [as a nation, His chosen people] as He struck her oppressors [those who afflicted her, her enemies]? Was she killed [slain, destroyed] like those who slayed [killed, murdered] her? word study 8 By warfare [or exile, banishment] and exile [removal from the land, forced departure] You contended [argued, strived with] with her and removed [drove away, expelled] her with a fierce [rough, severe] wind, as on the day [a period of time, an era] the east [direction, location] wind [spirit, breath] blows [sweeps, strikes]. word study 9 Therefore Jacob’s [moral] guilt [iniquity, sin] will be atoned for [forgiven, purged], and the full fruit [result, outcome] of the removal [taking away, turning aside] of his sin [transgression, rebellion] will be this: When he makes all the altar stones [places of sacrifice, worship] like crushed bits of chalk [powder, dust], no Asherah poles [idols, images] or incense altars [places of false worship] will remain standing [rise, be established]. word study 10 For the fortified [strongly defended, secure] city [excitement, a place with walls] lies deserted [isolated, abandoned]— a homestead [dwelling place, pasture] abandoned [forsaken, left empty], a wilderness [desolate land, barren] forsaken [left to itself, unrestrained]. There [in that place, at that time] the calves [young oxen, male cattle] graze [feed, eat], and there [in that same place] they lie down [rest, stretch out]; they strip [consume, eat away] its branches [limbs, tree limbs] bare [completely, entirely]. word study 11 When its limbs [branches, boughs] are dry [withered, without water], they are broken off [shattered, severed]. Women [females, wives] come and use them for kindling [set them on fire, make a flame]; for this is a people [nation, group] without [lacking, devoid of] understanding [discernment, wisdom]. Therefore their Maker [Creator, the One who formed them] has no compassion [mercy, pity] on them, and their Creator [the One who shaped them, formed them] shows them no favor [graciousness, kindness]. word study 12 In that day [a time of divine intervention] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] will thresh [beat off, separate] from the flowing Euphrates [a major river] to the Wadi [a brook or stream, a smaller watercourse] of Egypt [the land of the Egyptians], and you, O Israelites [children of Israel, God’s chosen people], will be gathered [collected, brought together] one by one [individually, with care]. word study 13 And in that day [a time of great significance, before all time] a great [large, powerful] ram’s horn [a trumpet made from a ram’s horn] will sound [be blown, proclaim], and those who were perishing [dying, lost] in Assyria [the land of Asshur, a nation] will come forth [return, be restored] with those who were exiles [outcasts, banished] in Egypt [the land of the Nile, a foreign nation]. And they will worship [bow down, give reverence] the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] on the holy [set-apart, sacred] mountain [hill, elevated place] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Israel]. word study