1 In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea. 2 In that day, sing to her, "A pleasant vineyard! 3 I, Yahweh, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day. 4 Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together. 5 Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. Let him make peace with me." 6 In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit. 7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or are they killed like those who killed them were killed? 8 In measure, when you send them away, you contend with them. He has removed them with his rough blast in the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore, by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherim and the incense altars shall rise no more. 10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches. 11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 It will happen in that day, that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel. 13 It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
For the general design of this chapter see the analysis of Isaiah. 24. Many different expositions have been given of its design, and indeed almost every commentator has had his own theory, and has differed from almost every other. Some of the different views which have been taken may be seen in the notes at Isaiah 27:1, and may be examined at length in Vitringa. I regard the most simple and obvious interpretation as the correct one; and that is, that it is a continuation of the vision commenced in Isaiah. 24, and referring to the same great event - the captivity at Babylon and the deliverance from that captivity. This subject has been pursued through the Isaiah 24:1, the Isaiah 25:1, and the Isaiah 26:1 chapters. In the Isaiah 25:1 and the Isaiah 26:1 chapters, the main design was to show the joy which would be evinced on their rescue from that land. The main purpose of this is to show the effect of that captivity and deliverance in purifying the Jews themselves, and in overcoming their propensity to idolatry, on account of which the captivity had been suf fered to take place. The "design" of the chapter is, like that of many others in Isaiah, to comfort them when they should be oppressed during their long and painful exile. The general plan of the chapter is:
1. A statement that their great enemy, the leviathan, should be destroyed Isaiah 27:1; and,
2. A song, in alternate responses, respecting the people of God, under the image of a vineyard yielding rich wines Isaiah 27:2-13. In this song Yahweh's protection over the vineyard is shown Isaiah 27:3; he declares that he is not actuated by fury Isaiah 27:4; his people are exhorted to trust in him Isaiah 27:5; a full promise that the Jews shall yet flourish is given Isaiah 27:6; Yahweh says that his judgments are mild on them Isaiah 27:7-8, and that the design is to purify his people Isaiah 27:9, for their sins they should be punished Isaiah 27:10-11; yet that they should be restored to their own land, and worship him in the holy mount at Jerusalem Isaiah 27:12-13.
Destruction of the enemies of the Church, Isaiah 27:1. God's care of his vineyard, Isaiah 27:2-11. Prosperity of the descendants of Abraham in the latter days, Isaiah 27:12, Isaiah 27:13.
The subject of this chapter seems to be the nature, the measure, and the design of God's dealings with his people.
1. His judgments inflicted on their great and powerful enemies, Isaiah 27:1.
2. His constant care and protection of his favorite vineyard, in the form of a dialogue, Isaiah 27:2.
3. The moderation and lenity with which the severity of his judgments have been tempered, Isaiah 27:7.
4. The end and design of them, to recover them from idolatry, Isaiah 27:9. And,
5. The recalling of them, on their repentance, from their several dispersions, Isaiah 27:12.
The first verse seems connected with the two last verses of the preceding chapter. - L.
INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 27
This chapter refers to the same times as the two foregoing ones Isaiah 25:1; and is a continuation of the same song, or rather a new one on the same occasion; it is prophetical of the last times, and of what shall be done in them, as the destruction of the antichristian powers, and Satan at the head of them, Isaiah 27:1 the happy state of the church, and its fruitfulness under the care and protection of the Lord, and his affection for it, Isaiah 27:2 its peace, prosperity, and flourishing condition, Isaiah 27:5 the nature, use, and end of all its afflictions and chastisements, Isaiah 27:7 the ruin and destruction of the city of Rome, and its inhabitants, and of its whole jurisdiction, Isaiah 27:10 a great gathering and conversion of the Lord's people, both Jews and Gentiles, by the ministry of the Gospel, Isaiah 27:12.
(Isaiah 27:1-5) God's care over his people.
(Isaiah 27:6-13) A promise of their recall to Divine favour.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.