Isa 27 | HCSB | STEP | On that day the Lord with His harsh , great , and strong sword , will bring judgment on Leviathan , the fleeing serpent – Leviathan , the twisting serpent . He will slay the monster that is in the sea .

‏ Isaiah 27

Leviathan Slain

1 On that day the Lord with His harsh, great, and strong sword, will bring judgment on ^{▼▼Leviathan: Or twisting one; a mythological sea serpent or dragon associated with the chaos at creation. Sometimes it is applied to an animal such as a crocodile.}Leviathan, ^b the fleeing serpent – Leviathan, the twisting serpent. He will slay the monster that is in the sea. ^c

The Lord’s Vineyard

2 On that day
sing about a desirable vineyard: ^d
3 I, ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh, watch over it;
I water it regularly.
I guard it night and day
so that no one disturbs it.
4 I am not angry,
but if it produces thorns and briers ^f for Me,
I will fight against it, trample it,
and burn it to the ground.
5 Or let it take hold of My strength;
let it make peace with Me –
make peace with Me.
6 In days to come, Jacob will take root. ^g
Israel will blossom and bloom ^h
and fill the whole world with fruit.

7 Did the Lord strike Israel
as He struck the one who struck Israel? ⁱ
Was he killed like those killed by Him?
8 You disputed with her
by banishing and driving her away. ^{▼▼Hb obscure}
He removed her with His severe storm
on the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore Jacob’s iniquity ^k will be purged in this way,
and the result of the removal of his sin will be this: ^l
when he makes all the altar stones
like crushed bits of chalk,
no ^{▼▼Asherah(s): A Canaanite fertility goddess, who was the mother of the god Baal; also the wooden poles associated with the worship of her}Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
10 For the fortified city will be deserted,
pastures abandoned and forsaken like a wilderness.
Calves will graze there,
and there they will spread out and strip its branches.
11 When its branches dry out, they will be broken off.
Women will come and make fires with them,
for they are not a people with understanding. ⁿ
Therefore their Maker ^o will not have compassion on them,
and their Creator will not be gracious to them.

12 On that day ^p
the Lord will thresh grain from the Euphrates River
as far as the ^{▼▼wadi: A seasonal stream that flows only in the rainy season}Wadi of Egypt, ^r
and you Israelites will be gathered one by one.
13 On that day
a great trumpet ^s will be blown,
and those lost in the land of Assyria will come,
as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt;
and they will worship the Lord
at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.