Isaiah 27

This chapter closes the section of Isaiah often called the ‘Apocalypse.’ It opens with God’s judgment on the great sea monster, the symbol of evil. Then it sings of Israel as the Lord’s guarded vineyard, explains why Israel was disciplined, and ends with the exiles being gathered to worship in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 27:1

God will one day deal with the great enemy of His people. Leviathan was a symbol of chaos and evil, and the Lord’s sword shows that no power is too strong for Him. The chapter begins with His complete victory.

BSA: Leviathan (“a massive sea creature”): The image is of a vast, untameable power that only God can overcome.

Hebrew: לִוְיָתָן (livyatan, H3882) — “Leviathan, the twisting one.” The name suggests something coiled or twisting. The verse piles up pictures of a slippery, writhing enemy that cannot escape God.

See also: Psalm 74:14; Revelation 12:9.

Isaiah 27:2

After the monster is judged, a song begins. God’s people are no longer a vineyard that disappoints, as in Isaiah 5. They are now a vineyard worth singing about. Judgment ends in joy for those who belong to Him.

BSA: vineyard (“a garden of delight”): The people are pictured as something the Lord takes pleasure in.

See also: Isaiah 5:1-7.

Isaiah 27:3

The Lord Himself tends the vineyard. He waters it without a break and guards it by night and by day. His people are not left to protect themselves. They live under His constant, personal care.

BSA: keeper (“watching over, guarding”): God acts as a watchman who never leaves his post. continually (“every moment, without ceasing”): His care never pauses, not even for a moment.

See also: Psalm 121:3-4.

Isaiah 27:4

God says His anger is gone. Thorns and briers stand for whatever opposes the vineyard. If they stood against Him, He would march out and burn them. His wrath is now aimed at the enemies, not at His own people.

BSA: thorns (“shamir, sharp thorns”): These are the wild, hostile growth that chokes a vineyard.

Isaiah 27:5

Even God’s opponents are offered a way out. They can take hold of His protection and make peace with Him. The repeated words show how much He wants it. His judgment always leaves open the door of reconciliation.

BSA: peace (“shalom, completeness and wellness”): This peace means being made whole and right with God, not merely an end to fighting. protection (“security, stronghold”): God Himself is a fortress to run to.

Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם (shalom, H7965) — “peace, wholeness, well-being.” The word means far more than quiet. It is the full health of a person or people in right relationship with God.

See also: Romans 5:1.

Isaiah 27:6

The picture of a vineyard moves to the future. Jacob, once uprooted, will take root again. Israel will bud, blossom and fill the world with fruit. God’s purpose for Israel was always blessing that reaches every nation.

BSA: take root (“be firmly established, flourish”): The people will be planted so firmly that they cannot easily be pulled up again. world (“the earth, all nations”): The fruit is not kept for Israel alone. It reaches the whole earth.

See also: Genesis 12:3; Romans 11:12.

Isaiah 27:7

Two questions invite the reader to compare. God has struck Israel, but not as hard as He struck her oppressors. His discipline of His people was measured. Their enemies get destruction. His own get correction.

BSA: struck (“as a nation, His chosen people”): Israel is struck as His own people, so the blow is discipline and not final ruin.

See also: Hebrews 12:6.

Isaiah 27:8

God contended with Israel by war and exile, driving her out like a hot desert wind. Yet He did it with restraint. The aim was to bring her to her senses, not to wipe her out. Even His severest discipline had a purpose.

BSA: contended (“argued, strived with”): God was pleading His case with His people as in a court, not lashing out in rage. wind (“spirit, breath”): The same word can mean spirit, so the wind is understood to be sent by God.

See also: Hosea 13:15.

Isaiah 27:9

Here is the point of the discipline. Jacob’s guilt is dealt with, and the proof is that he turns from idols. He crushes the altars like chalk and no Asherah poles remain. Forgiveness shows itself in a changed life.

BSA: atoned for (“forgiven, purged”): Guilt is not simply ignored. It is covered and cleansed. Asherah poles (“idols, images”): These were wooden symbols of a Canaanite goddess that Israel kept falling back into.

Hebrew: יְכֻפַּר (yekhupar, H3722) — “will be atoned for, covered.” This is the Hebrew word family used for the Day of Atonement. It speaks of sin being covered over and removed by God’s own provision.

See also: Leviticus 16:30; Isaiah 6:7.

Isaiah 27:10

In contrast, the proud fortified city now stands empty. It has become pasture where calves graze and lie down. A stronghold that people trusted in has become a wilderness. Nothing built apart from God lasts.

BSA: deserted (“isolated, abandoned”): The city is left empty and alone, with no one to defend or live in it. calves (“young oxen, male cattle”): Animals now roam where the people once lived.

See also: Isaiah 25:2.

Isaiah 27:11

The withered branches are snapped off and burned by women for firewood. The people are described as lacking understanding. They did not know their God, so they gained no mercy. The verse is a sober warning about refusing to know Him.

BSA: understanding (“discernment, wisdom”): What was missing was a spiritual sense of who God is and what He asks. Maker (“the One who formed them”): The One they ignored is the same One who shaped them, which makes their neglect worse.

See also: Isaiah 1:3; Hosea 4:6.

Isaiah 27:12

God now turns to a harvest scene. As a farmer beats out grain, He will separate and gather His people from the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt. These mark the far edges of the promised land. Each person is gathered one by one, so no one is overlooked.

BSA: thresh (“beat off, separate”): Like knocking ripe grain loose, God will shake His people free from the lands where they are scattered. one by one (“individually, with care”): He gathers with personal attention, picking up each person.

See also: Genesis 15:18.

Isaiah 27:13

A great ram’s horn sounds, the signal for assembly. The perishing in Assyria and the exiles in Egypt come back. They end where God always meant them to be, worshiping Him on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. The chapter ends with homecoming and worship.

BSA: perishing (“dying, lost”): These are people who were as good as lost, yet God’s call still reaches them. worship (“bow down, give reverence”): Worship means bowing low before the Lord.

Hebrew: שׁוֹפָר (shofar, H7782) — “ram’s horn trumpet.” The shofar was blown to gather the people, to announce a holy day and to signal God’s action. Here it calls the scattered home.

See also: Matthew 24:31; Isaiah 11:11-12.