Isaiah 27 concludes the four-chapter 'Isaiah's Apocalypse' with three decisive acts: the slaying of Leviathan, the tender renewal of God's vineyard, and the gathering of scattered exiles. On that day the LORD draws His great sword against Leviathan — the twisting serpent, the dragon of the sea — and slays it. Then comes a vineyard song (vv. 2-6) that deliberately reverses chapter 5's vineyard of disappointment: where the earlier vineyard produced wild grapes and was abandoned, this vineyard is guarded day and night by a God who has no wrath, who waters it every moment. Israel will bud, blossom, and fill the world with fruit. The middle section addresses Israel's discipline: Jacob's guilt is atoned when altar stones are crushed to chalk and Asherah poles fall. The chapter — and the entire Apocalypse — closes with the sound of the great trumpet (shofar gadol), summoning the lost and scattered from Assyria and Egypt to worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. We rendered this concluding chapter with attention to its tone of resolution and restoration, preserving the vineyard reversal and the triumphant finality of the great trumpet.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The vineyard song (vv. 2-6) is a deliberate revision of Isaiah 5:1-7. In chapter 5, the vineyard was lovingly planted but produced bad fruit, and God tore down its walls in judgment. Here, the same God tends a vineyard with no anger — He waters it constantly, guards it day and night, and invites even thorns and briers to make peace with Him rather than face burning. The shift from wrath to tenderness is theologically momentous: God has moved from judgment to restoration. The Leviathan slaying (v. 1) draws on ancient Near Eastern combat mythology (the Ugaritic texts describe Baal's battle with the sea-serpent Litanu/Lotan) but radicalizes it: YHWH defeats cosmic chaos not in primordial time but on the eschatological 'that day.' The great trumpet (v. 13) becomes a key image in later Jewish and Christian eschatology (cf. Matt 24:31; 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16).
Translation Friction
The Leviathan references (v. 1) name three entities — or possibly one entity with three descriptions: 'Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and the dragon in the sea.' The relationship between these figures (one monster, two, or three?) is debated. The Ugaritic parallel (KTU 1.5.I.1-3) lists similar epithets for a single creature, suggesting Isaiah describes one cosmic enemy with multiple aspects. The 'altar stones crushed to chalk' (v. 9) as the condition for atonement is surprising — it appears to require the destruction of pagan altars (or possibly even Israelite altars that had been corrupted) as the price of forgiveness. We rendered bezot ('by this') without specifying what is being atoned for, as the Hebrew leaves the referent somewhat open. The 'city' in verses 10-11 (fortified, forsaken, a pasture for calves) may be Jerusalem under judgment, the same unnamed city of chaos, or a composite image.
Connections
Leviathan (v. 1) appears in Job 41, Psalm 74:14, and Psalm 104:26, and connects to Revelation 12-13 (the dragon and sea-beast). The vineyard song (vv. 2-6) reverses Isaiah 5:1-7 and anticipates Jesus' vineyard parables (Matt 21:33-46; John 15:1-8). The great trumpet (v. 13) connects to Leviticus 25:9 (Jubilee trumpet), Matthew 24:31 ('He will send His angels with a great trumpet'), 1 Corinthians 15:52 ('at the last trumpet'), and 1 Thessalonians 4:16. The gathering of exiles from Assyria and Egypt fulfills the promise of Isaiah 11:11-12. Worship on the holy mountain (v. 13) concludes the Apocalypse with the same image that opened it: the LORD reigning on Mount Zion (24:23).
On that day the LORD will punish with His sword —
His cruel, great, and mighty sword —
Leviathan the fleeing serpent,
Leviathan the twisting serpent,
and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
KJV In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
From a root meaning 'to twist, to coil.' Leviathan appears in Job 3:8; 41:1; Ps 74:14; 104:26. In Ugaritic texts, Litanu/Lotan is the seven-headed sea-serpent defeated by Baal. Isaiah's use places the definitive defeat in the eschatological future under YHWH's hand.
Translator Notes
Three descriptions of the enemy: livyatan nachash bariach ('Leviathan the fleeing/darting serpent'), livyatan nachash aqallaton ('Leviathan the twisting/coiling serpent'), and hattannin asher bayyam ('the dragon/sea-monster that is in the sea'). The sword (cherev) is itself described with three adjectives: qashah ('harsh, cruel'), gedolah ('great'), and chazaqah ('strong, mighty'). The triple sword matches the triple enemy.
The slaying of Leviathan is the final act of cosmic judgment. While chapters 24-26 dealt with the earth, its cities, and its peoples, chapter 27 begins by addressing the ultimate spiritual enemy — the chaos-power behind the chaos. The bayyom hahu ('on that day') formula ties this to the eschatological sequence.
Isaiah 27:2
בַּיּ֖וֹם הַה֑וּא כֶּ֥רֶם חֶ֖מֶד עַנּוּ־לָֽהּ׃
On that day:
"A vineyard of delight — sing of it!"
KJV In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The vineyard song begins with the same formula: bayyom hahu ('on that day'). The kerem chemed ('vineyard of delight/desire') recalls the kerem of Isaiah 5:1, but where that vineyard disappointed, this one delights. The command annu-lah ('sing of it/respond to it') invites a song — this is the new vineyard song, replacing the bitter harvest of chapter 5.
"I, the LORD, am its keeper;
every moment I water it.
Lest anyone harm it,
night and day I guard it."
KJV I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God speaks in first person: ani YHWH notsrah ('I, the LORD, am its keeper'). The frequency of care is extraordinary: lirga'im ('every moment, constantly') He waters it. Night and day (laylah veyomam) He guards it (etsorenah). In chapter 5, God removed the vineyard's hedge and let it be trampled. Here, the opposite: ceaseless, watchful, tender care. The reversal is complete.
The verb natsar ('to keep, to guard, to watch over') implies both protection and cultivation. God is simultaneously gardener and guardian.
"Wrath is not in Me.
If thorns and briers should confront Me in battle —
I would march against them,
I would burn them all together."
KJV Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The astonishing declaration: chemah ein li ('wrath is not in Me'). God's posture toward His vineyard has changed from the fury of chapter 5 to the absence of wrath. The thorns and briers (shamir shayit — the same pair from 5:6 and 7:23-25) are potential enemies, not the vineyard itself. If they attack, God will burn them — but the burning is protective, not punitive toward the vineyard. God fights for His vineyard, not against it.
"Or let him take hold of My refuge,
let him make peace with Me —
yes, let him make peace with Me."
KJV Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Even the thorns and briers have a second option: instead of being burned, they can grasp God's ma'uzi ('My refuge, My stronghold') and make peace (shalom) with Him. The repetition — shalom ya'aseh li, shalom ya'aseh li ('let him make peace with Me, let him make peace with Me') — is emphatic. God prefers reconciliation to destruction. The offer of peace to the very enemies of the vineyard is remarkable: even thorns can become part of God's peace.
In days to come Jacob shall take root,
Israel shall bud and blossom
and fill the face of the world with fruit.
KJV He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The vineyard's purpose is revealed: Jacob takes root (yashrish), Israel buds and blossoms (yatsits ufarach), and the fruit fills the face of the world (umale'u fenei-tevel tenuvah). The progression — root, bud, blossom, fruit — describes complete agricultural fulfillment. The scope is global: not just Israel's land but the face of the world (tevel) is covered with Israel's fruit. The vineyard that was destroyed in chapter 5 now produces abundance that blesses all nations.
Has He struck Israel
as He struck those who struck her?
Has she been slain
as her slayers were slain?
KJV Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Two rhetorical questions demand the answer 'No.' God's discipline of Israel is not the same as His destruction of Israel's enemies. The verb hikkahu ('He struck him') is used twice with different subjects — God strikes Israel differently from how He strikes the nations. Israel's punishment is measured, corrective; the nations' destruction is final. The distinction between discipline and destruction is crucial to the chapter's theology.
By measure, by exile,
You contended with her;
He removed her with His fierce wind
on a day of east wind.
KJV In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The debated word besa'ase'ah may mean 'by measure' (i.e., measured discipline) or may relate to the word for a dry measure (se'ah), implying 'measure by measure.' The verb terivenah ('You contended with her') describes God's legal dispute with Israel — not arbitrary punishment but judicial process. The 'east wind' (qadim) is the sirocco from the desert, the instrument of exile. God's 'fierce wind' (rucho haqqashah) drives Israel into dispersion, but even this is measured, not total.
Therefore by this Jacob's guilt shall be atoned for,
and this is the full fruit of removing his sin:
when he makes all the altar stones
like chalk stones ground to pieces —
no Asherah poles or incense altars shall stand.
KJV By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The condition of atonement (yekhuppar avon Ya'aqov) is specific: the altar stones must be smashed to chalk dust (avnei gir menupatsot), and the Asherah poles (asherim) and incense altars (chammanim) must be permanently removed. The 'altar stones' likely refer to pagan altars or syncretistic worship sites. The word menupatsot ('ground to pieces, shattered') indicates total destruction — no reconstruction possible.
The phrase vezeh kol-peri ('and this is the full fruit') uses agricultural language: the 'fruit' of Israel's discipline is the complete removal of idolatry. Discipline produces the fruit that the original vineyard failed to yield (ch. 5).
For the fortified city stands alone,
a habitation abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness.
There the calf grazes,
there it lies down
and strips bare its branches.
KJV Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fortified city (ir betsura) is now badad ('alone, solitary') — the word used for mourning isolation (cf. Lam 1:1, 'How lonely sits the city'). The once-populated habitation (naveh) is meshullach ('abandoned, sent away') and ne'ezav ('forsaken') like a wilderness (midbar). Calves graze freely in its ruins — a sign of total desolation. The branches (se'ifeiha) that the calf strips bare may be remnants of gardens or orchards that once adorned the city.
When its branches dry out they are broken off;
women come and make fires with them.
For this is not a people of understanding;
therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them,
and their Former will show them no favor.
KJV When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The dried branches (qetsiraha) of the abandoned city are gathered by women for fuel — the final indignity of a destroyed settlement. The theological verdict is severe: lo am-binot hu ('this is not a people of understanding'). Because they lack discernment, their Maker (osehu) will not show compassion (racham) and their Former (yotsero) will not show favor (channan). The titles 'Maker' and 'Former' — creation language — heighten the tragedy: the Creator withdraws mercy from His own creatures.
On that day the LORD will thresh
from the flowing Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt,
and you shall be gathered one by one,
O children of Israel.
KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb yachbot ('He will thresh, beat out') describes the careful separation of grain from chaff — God will thresh the territory from the Euphrates (shibbolet hannahar, 'the flowing channel of the River') to the Brook of Egypt (nachal Mitsrayim, the Wadi el-Arish). These are the ideal borders of the promised land (Gen 15:18). Within this vast territory, Israelites will be gathered le'echad echad ('one by one') — individually, carefully, none overlooked.
The image of threshing conveys both judgment (separating chaff) and harvest (gathering grain). The Israelites are the grain; they will be individually gathered from among the nations.
On that day a great trumpet shall be blown,
and those perishing in the land of Assyria
and those driven out to the land of Egypt
shall come and worship the LORD
on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.
KJV And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
שׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹלshofar gadol
"great trumpet"—great ram's horn, mighty trumpet blast, the eschatological horn
The shofar was sounded for assembly, war, coronation, new year, and Jubilee. The 'great' (gadol) qualifier makes this the ultimate sounding — the trumpet that ends history's exile and begins its consummation.
Translator Notes
The Apocalypse concludes with the great trumpet (shofar gadol). Those 'perishing' (ha'ovedim) in Assyria and those 'driven out' (hanniddachim) to Egypt — representing the northern and southern diaspora respectively — hear the blast and come. The destination is singular and specific: the holy mountain (har haqqodesh) in Jerusalem. The final verb is vehishtachavu ('and they shall worship') — the entire four-chapter sequence resolves in worship on Zion.
This verse becomes foundational for Jewish and Christian eschatology. Jesus references the great trumpet in Matthew 24:31 ('He will send His angels with a great trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds'). Paul echoes it in 1 Corinthians 15:52 ('at the last trumpet') and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 ('with the trumpet call of God'). The Apocalypse that began with the earth emptied (24:1) ends with the earth's scattered people gathered home.