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Isaiah 27
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 27
Easy-to-Read Version
27 At that time the Lord will judge Leviathan,[a]
the crooked snake.
He will use his great sword, his hard and powerful sword,
to punish Leviathan, that twisting, turning snake.
He will kill the monster of the sea.[b]
2 At that time people will sing
about the pleasant vineyard.
3 “I, the Lord, will care for the vineyard.
I will water it at the right time.
I will guard it day and night.
No one will hurt it.
4 I am not angry.
But if there is war and someone builds a wall of thornbushes,[c]
then I will march to it and burn it.
5 But if anyone comes to me for safety
and wants to make peace with me,
then let them come and make peace.
6 In the future, Jacob will take root firmly on his soil.
Then Israel will sprout and bloom,
and the world will be filled with his fruit.”
God Will Send Israel Away
7 Israel was not hurt as badly as the enemy who tried to hurt it. Not as many of its people were killed as those who tried to kill them.
8 The Lord will settle his argument with Israel by sending the people far away. He will speak harshly to Israel. His words will burn like the hot desert wind.
9 How will Jacob’s guilt be forgiven? What will happen so his sins can be taken away? The rocks of the altar will be crushed to dust; the statues[d] and altars for worshiping false gods will all be destroyed.
10 The great city will be empty; it will be like a desert. All the people will be gone—they will run away. The city will be like an open pasture. Young cattle will eat grass there. The cattle will eat leaves from the branches of the vines. 11 The vines will become dry, and the branches will break off. Women will use them for firewood.
The people refuse to understand. So God, their Maker, will not comfort them or be kind to them.
12 At that time the Lord will begin separating his people from others. He will begin at the Euphrates River and will gather his people from there[e] to the River of Egypt.[f]
You people of Israel will be gathered together one by one. 13 Many of my people are now lost in Assyria. Some of my people have run away to Egypt. But at that time a great trumpet will be blown, and all those people will come back to Jerusalem. They will bow down before the Lord on that holy mountain.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 27:1 Leviathan The Dragon or giant snake. Some ancient stories say the Dragon was an enemy of God.
- Isaiah 27:1 monster of the sea This is probably Rahab. Some ancient stories tell of Rahab fighting with God.
- Isaiah 27:4 a wall of thornbushes Literally, “thorns and thistles.” Farmers planted walls of thornbushes around vineyards to protect them from animals. See Isa. 5:5.
- Isaiah 27:9 statues Or “idols.” See “idol” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 27:12 He will begin … from there Literally, “He will begin threshing at the stream of the river.” This Hebrew word for stream is like the word meaning “head of grain.”
- Isaiah 27:12 Euphrates River … River of Egypt These are the borders of the land God promised to give Israel.
Isaiah 27
New International Version
Isaiah 27
New International Version
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.
2 In that day(F)—
“Sing(G) about a fruitful vineyard:(H)
3 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.
4 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)
5 Or else let them come to me for refuge;(M)
let them make peace(N) with me,
yes, let them make peace with me.”
6 In days to come Jacob will take root,(O)
Israel will bud and blossom(P)
and fill all the world with fruit.(Q)
7 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?
8 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.
9 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
- Isaiah 27:8 See Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 27:9 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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