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27 At that time the Lord will punish Leviathan, the gliding snake.
    He will punish Leviathan, the coiled snake,
    with his great and hard and powerful sword.
He will kill the monster in the sea.
At that time
    people will sing about the pleasant vineyard.
“I, the Lord, will care for that vineyard;
    I will water it at the right time.
No one will hurt it,
    because I will guard it day and night.
I am not angry.
If anyone builds a wall of thornbushes in war,
    I will march to it and burn it.
But if anyone comes to me for safety
    and wants to make peace with me,
    he should come and make peace with me.”
In the days to come, the people of Jacob will be like a plant with good roots;
    Israel will grow like a plant beginning to bloom.
    Then the world will be filled with their children.

The Lord Will Send Israel Away

The Lord has not hurt his people as he hurt their enemies;
    his people have not been killed like those who tried to kill them.
He will settle his argument with Israel by sending it far away.
    Like a hot desert wind, he will drive it away.
This is how Israel’s guilt will be forgiven;
    this is how its sins will be taken away:
Israel will crush the rocks of the altar to dust,
    and no statues or altars will be left standing for the Asherah idols.
10 At that time the strong, walled city will be empty
    like a desert.
Calves will eat grass there.
    They will lie down there
    and eat leaves from the branches.
11 The limbs will become dry and break off,
    so women will use them for firewood.
The people refuse to understand,
    so God will not comfort them;
    their Maker will not be kind to them.

12 At that time the Lord will begin gathering his people one by one from the Euphrates River to the brook of Egypt. He will separate them from others as grain is separated from chaff. 13 Many of my people are now lost in Assyria. Some have run away to Egypt. But at that time a great trumpet will be blown, and all those people will come and worship the Lord on that holy mountain in 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