The Meaning of Isaiah 27:1 Explained

Isaiah 27:1

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.

YLT: In that day lay a charge doth Jehovah, With his sword -- the sharp, and the great, and the strong, On leviathan -- a fleeing serpent, And on leviathan -- a crooked serpent, And He hath slain the dragon that is in the sea.

Darby: In that day Jehovah, with his sore and great and strong sword, will visit leviathan the fleeing serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.

ASV: In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.

Discover Isaiah 27:1

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Isaiah 27:1?

MEANING: What does Isaiah 27:1 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Isaiah 27:1 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Isaiah 27:1?

What is the context of Isaiah 27:1?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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.

What does Isaiah 27:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Leviathan was something very horrific ( Job 3:8). It seems to have been a water beast either in reality or in myth ( Job 41). The psalmist used it figuratively to describe Egypt, a powerful and deadly enemy of Israel ( Psalm 104:26). Thus Leviathan was a symbol of the immense power arrayed against the Lord"s people. It was also a figure in Canaanite mythology. Isaiah"s reference to it does not mean he believed in the Canaanite myth. He simply used a term used in mythology to illustrate. Similarly, Christian preachers sometimes refer to fictional characters without believing that they really exist. ^[1] Here Leviathan"s descriptions suggest that this dragon-like creature glides swiftly (possibly through the air, as a spirit being), that it is a deadly foe (like a coiling serpent), and that it inhabits the sea (a place notoriously uncontrollable by humans). In short, it seems to stand for the strong spiritual enemies of God"s people. Some interpreters believe Isaiah had in mind Satan himself (cf. Isaiah 24:21)-who occupies the air, the land, and the sea; he infests the whole creation. God will punish Satan and his host in the future (cf. Isaiah 24:22-23). ^[2] Another view is that the swift serpent is an allusion to the fairly straight Tigris River, the coiling serpent to the more twisting Euphrates River, and the dragon by the sea to Egypt (the Nile River). Thus Assyria, Babylonia, and Egypt are in view. ^[3] Still other interpreters favor taking the monsters and locations as representing all of Israel"s human enemies. ^[4] I think the passage pictures God"s punishment of Israel"s enemies at the Second Coming. ^[5]

Context Summary

Isaiah 27:1-13 - God's Care For His Vineyard

Throughout these chapters we must remember that the doom of Babylon and the restoration of God's people are symbolical of other events, for which the world is preparing. Then Babylon the Great shall give place to the Holy City, which comes down out of heaven from God. Egypt and Babylon are represented by the leviathan, a general term applicable to any great water animal. The one had its Nile, the other its Euphrates. Parallel with the destruction of our foes is God's care of His own people. The Church is His vineyard. We do not keep Him, but He, us. Not for a moment does He relax His care. Those who oppose His purposes are trampled down as briars beneath the booted foot. In Isaiah 5:6 we have a prevision of the ultimate mission of the Hebrew race.

Note the difference in Isaiah 27:7-11 between punishment and chastisement. The former is irremediable and destructive, the latter is always in measure. The rough wind is stayed in the day of the east wind. Its object is to purge away our sins. After the captivity idolatry ceased out of Israel. How tenderly God gathers His wanderers-one by one as hand-picked fruit; even those who had wandered farthest and were ready to perish! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 27

¹ The Deliverance of Israel

What do the individual words in Isaiah 27:1 mean?

In day that will punish Yahweh with His sword severe and great and mighty on Leviathan the serpent fleeing and Leviathan serpent that twisted and He will slay - the reptile that [is] in the sea -

בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֡וּא יִפְקֹ֣ד יְהוָה֩ בְּחַרְב֨וֹ‪‬ הַקָּשָׁ֜ה וְהַגְּדוֹלָ֣ה וְהַֽחֲזָקָ֗ה עַ֤ל לִוְיָתָן֙ נָחָ֣שׁ בָּרִ֔חַ וְעַל֙ לִוְיָתָ֔ן נָחָ֖שׁ עֲקַלָּת֑וֹן וְהָרַ֥ג אֶת־ הַתַּנִּ֖ין אֲשֶׁ֥ר בַּיָּֽם ס

בַּיּ֣וֹם	In day
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: יׄום Sense: day, time, year.
הַה֡וּא	that
Parse: Article, Pronoun, third person masculine singular Root: הוּא Sense: he, she, it.
יִפְקֹ֣ד	will punish
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: פָּקַד Sense: to attend to, muster, number, reckon, visit, punish, appoint, look after, care for.
יְהוָה֩	Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בְּחַרְב֨וֹ‪‬	with His sword
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular Root: חֶרֶב Sense: sword, knife.
הַקָּשָׁ֜ה	severe
Parse: Article, Adjective, feminine singular Root: קָשֶׁה Sense: hard, cruel, severe, obstinate.
וְהַגְּדוֹלָ֣ה	and great
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Adjective, feminine singular Root: גָּבֹול Sense: great.
וְהַֽחֲזָקָ֗ה	and mighty
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Adjective, feminine singular Root: חָזָק Sense: strong, stout, mighty.
לִוְיָתָן֙	Leviathan
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: לִוְיָתָן Sense: leviathan, sea monster, dragon.
נָחָ֣שׁ	the serpent
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: נָחָשׁ Sense: serpent, snake.
בָּרִ֔חַ	fleeing
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular Root: בָּרִחַ Sense: fleeing subst.
לִוְיָתָ֔ן	Leviathan
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: לִוְיָתָן Sense: leviathan, sea monster, dragon.
נָחָ֖שׁ	serpent
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: נָחָשׁ Sense: serpent, snake.
עֲקַלָּת֑וֹן	that twisted
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular Root: עֲקַלָּתֹון Sense: crooked.
וְהָרַ֥ג	and He will slay
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular Root: הָרַג Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
אֶת־	-
Parse: Direct object marker Root: אֹות Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַתַּנִּ֖ין	the reptile
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: תַּנִּין Sense: dragon, serpent, sea monster.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר	that [is]
Parse: Pronoun, relative Root: אֲשֶׁר Sense: (relative part.).
בַּיָּֽם	in the sea
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular Root: יָם Sense: sea.
ס	-
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Isaiah 27:1?

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