Keraia
Isaiah 27

Isaiah 27:10

The LORD’s Vineyard · Isaiah 27:1–13
Read Isaiah 27

Translations

Modern
For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
Traditional
Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
Literal
For the fortified city is alone, a habitation deserted and forsaken like the wilderness; there the calf will graze, and there he will lie down and consume her branches.
Latin
Civitas enim munita desolata erit; speciosa relinquetur, et dimittetur quasi desertum; ibi pascetur vitulus, et ibi accubabit, et consumet summitates ejus.

Original

Hebrew
English
For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.

Notes

Isaiah 27:10

Places previously associated with human power and accomplishment would be ruined to the extent that animals would graze in them.

Isaiah 27:7–11

Isaiah reminded readers of the reasons for the exile and judgment:

  • Israel’s sinfulness,

  • God’s righteous judgment, and

  • the absence of divine compassion.

Isaiah 24:1–27:13

This section is often called the Little Apocalypse. It is given this name because it has similarities to the book of Revelation.

In these chapters, Isaiah moves from his present time into a vision of the future. The language is broad and universal. Because of this, it is difficult to connect the events to one specific historical situation.

These chapters are not meant to provide a detailed timeline of future events. They are not a historical blueprint. Instead, Isaiah uses vivid images to describe a dramatic future world that is both similar to and different from the present.

The vision includes elements of both the old age and the new age. For example, the people of Zion are described as righteous (new), yet they still wait for their full redemption (old). This pattern fits with the New Testament teaching that the future age has already begun but has not yet fully arrived (2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4).

Peter wrote that believers were already living in the last days (1 Peter 1:12; 2 Peter 3:3). At the same time, he said that the final day of the Lord is still future (2 Peter 3:10). These passages show that the present age and the future age overlap.

Events

Parallels

John 15:1–8

Glossary

Isaiah, Book of

Topics

The Calf: Fed On: Branches of Trees