Isaiah 27:7-13

27:7 Has the Lord struck down Israel like he did their oppressors? ¹ 

Has Israel been killed like their enemies? ² 

27:8 When you summon her for divorce, you prosecute her; ³ 

he drives her away ⁴  with his strong wind in the day of the east wind. ⁵ 

27:9 So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven, ⁶ 

and this is how they will show they are finished sinning: ⁷ 

They will make all the stones of the altars ⁸ 

like crushed limestone,

and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. ⁹ 

27:10 For the fortified city ¹⁰  is left alone;

it is a deserted settlement

and abandoned like the desert.

Calves ¹¹  graze there;

they lie down there

and eat its branches bare. ¹² 

27:11 When its branches get brittle, ¹³  they break;

women come and use them for kindling. ¹⁴ 

For these people lack understanding, ¹⁵ 

therefore the one who made them has no compassion on them;

the one who formed them has no mercy on them.

27:12 At that time ¹⁶  the Lord will shake the tree, ¹⁷  from the Euphrates River ¹⁸  to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ¹⁹  27:13 At that time ²⁰  a large ²¹  trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost ²²  in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in ²³  the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. ²⁴ 

[27:7]  ¹ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Like the striking down of the one striking him down does he strike him down?” The meaning of the text is unclear, but this may be a rhetorical question, suggesting that Israel has not experienced divine judgment to the same degree as her oppressors. In this case “the one striking down” refers to Israel’s oppressors, while the pronoun “him” refers to Israel. The subject of the final verb (“does he strike down”) would then be God, while the pronoun “him” would again refer to Israel.

[27:7]  ² tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “Or like the killing of his killed ones is he killed?” If one accepts the interpretation of the parallel line outlined in the previous note, then this line too would contain a rhetorical question suggesting that Israel has not experienced destruction to the same degree as its enemies. In this case “his killed ones” refers to the one who struck Israel down, and Israel would be the subject of the final verb (“is he killed”).

[27:8]  ³ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “in [?], in sending her away, you oppose her.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The form בְּסַאסְּאָה (bÿsa’ssÿ’ah) is taken as an infinitive from סַאסְּאָה (sa’ssÿ’ah) with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. (The MT does not have a mappiq in the final he [ה], however). According to HALOT 738 s.v. סַאסְּאָה the verb is a Palpel form from an otherwise unattested root cognate with an Arabic verb meaning “to gather beasts with a call.” Perhaps it means “to call, summon” here, but this is a very tentative proposal. בְּשַׁלְחָהּ (bÿshalkhah, “in sending her away”) appears to be a Piel infinitive with a prepositional prefix and a third feminine singular suffix. Since the Piel of שָׁלָח (shalakh) can sometimes mean “divorce” (HALOT 1514-15 s.v.) and the following verb רִיב (riv, “oppose”) can be used in legal contexts, it is possible that divorce proceedings are alluded to here. This may explain why Israel is referred to as feminine in this verse, in contrast to the masculine forms used in vv. 6-7 and 9.

[27:8]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text has no object expressed, but one can understand a third feminine singular pronominal object and place a mappiq in the final he (ה) of the form to indicate the suffix.

[27:8]  ⁵ sn The “east wind” here symbolizes violent divine judgment.

[27:9]  ⁶ tn Or “be atoned for” (NIV); cf. NRSV “be expiated.”

[27:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “and this [is] all the fruit of removing his sin.” The meaning of the statement is not entirely clear, though “removing his sin” certainly parallels “Jacob’s sin will be removed” in the preceding line. If original, “all the fruit” may refer to the result of the decision to remove sin, but the phrase may be a corruption of לְכַפֵּר (lekhaper, “to atone for”), which in turn might be a gloss on הָסִר (hasir, “removing”).

[27:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “when he makes the stones of an altar.” The singular “altar” is collective here; pagan altars are in view, as the last line of the verse indicates. See also 17:8.

[27:9]  ⁹ sn As interpreted and translated above, this verse says that Israel must totally repudiate its pagan religious practices in order to experience God’s forgiveness and restoration. Another option is to understand “in this way” and “this” in v. 9a as referring back to the judgment described in v. 8. In this case כָּפַר (kafar, “atone for”) is used in a sarcastic sense; Jacob’s sin is “atoned for” and removed through severe judgment. Following this line of interpretation, one might paraphrase the verse as follows: “So in this way (through judgment) Jacob’s sin will be “atoned for,” and this is the way his sin will be removed, when he (i.e., God) makes all the altar stones like crushed limestone….” This interpretation is more consistent with the tone of judgment in vv. 8 and 10-11.

[27:10]  ¹⁰ sn The identity of this city is uncertain. The context suggests that an Israelite city, perhaps Samaria or Jerusalem, is in view. For discussions of interpretive options see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:496-97, and Paul L. Redditt, “Once Again, the City in Isaiah 24-27,” HAR 10 (1986), 332.

[27:10]  ¹¹ tn The singular form in the text is probably collective.

[27:10]  ¹² tn Heb “and destroy her branches.” The city is the antecedent of the third feminine singular pronominal suffix. Apparently the city is here compared to a tree. See also v. 11.

[27:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “are dry” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[27:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “women come [and] light it.” The city is likened to a dead tree with dried up branches that is only good for firewood.

[27:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for not a people of understanding [is] he.”

[27:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the Lord will beat out.” The verb is used of beating seeds or grain to separate the husk from the kernel (see Judg 6:11; Ruth 2:17; Isa 28:27), and of beating the olives off the olive tree (Deut 24:20). The latter metaphor may be in view here, where a tree metaphor has been employed in the preceding verses. See also 17:6.

[27:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the river,” a frequent designation in the OT for the Euphrates. For clarity most modern English versions substitute the name “Euphrates” for “the river” here.

[27:12]  ¹⁹ sn The Israelites will be freed from exile (likened to beating the olives off the tree) and then gathered (likened to collecting the olives).

[27:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and it will be in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[27:13]  ²¹ tn Traditionally, “great” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT); CEV “loud.”

[27:13]  ²² tn Or “the ones perishing.”

[27:13]  ²³ tn Or “the ones driven into.”

[27:13]  ²⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.