1 In that day the Lord, with his great and strong and cruel sword, will send punishment on Leviathan, the quick-moving snake, and on Leviathan, the twisted snake; and he will put to death the dragon which is in the sea.
For with fire and sword will the Lord come, judging all the earth, and his sword will be on all flesh: and great numbers will be put to death by him.
Awake! awake! put on strength, O arm of the Lord, awake! as in the old days, in the generations long past. Was it not by you that Rahab was cut in two, and the dragon Wounded?
Say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great river-beast stretched out among his Nile streams, who has said, The Nile is mine, and I have made it for myself.
The sea was parted in two by your strength; the heads of the great sea-beasts were broken. The heads of the great snake were crushed by you; you gave them as food to the fishes of the sea.
And the rest were put to death with the sword of him who was on the horse, even the sword which came out of his mouth: and all the birds were made full with their flesh.
See, then, that you have a change of heart; or I will come to you quickly, and will make war against them with the sword of my mouth.
And one of the seven angels who had the seven vessels came and said to me, Come here, so that you may see the judging of the evil woman who is seated on the great waters;
And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, like frogs.
And they gave worship to the dragon, because he gave authority to the beast; and worshipping the beast, they said, Who is like the beast? and who is able to go to war with him?
Son of man, make a song of grief for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him, Young lion of the nations, destruction has come on you; and you were like a sea-beast in the seas, sending out bursts of water, troubling the waters with your feet, making their streams dirty. This is what the Lord has said: My net will be stretched out over you, and I will take you up in my fishing-net. And I will let you be stretched on the land; I will send you out violently into the open field; I will let all the birds of heaven come to rest on you and will make the beasts of all the earth full of you. And I will put your flesh on the mountains, and make the valleys full of your blood.
O you whose living-place is by the wide waters, whose stores are great, your end is come, your evil profit is ended.
O sword of the Lord, how long will you have no rest? put yourself back into your cover; be at peace, be quiet.
For my sword in heaven is full of wrath: see, it is coming down on Edom, in punishment on the people of my curse. The sword of the Lord is full of blood, it is fat with the best of the meat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the best parts of the sheep: for the Lord has a feast in Bozrah, and much cattle will be put to death in the land of Edom.
For the Lord is coming out of his place to send punishment on the people of the earth for their evil-doing: the earth will let the blood drained out on her be seen, and will keep her dead covered no longer.
Will anyone take him when he is on the watch, or put metal teeth through his nose?
And Job made answer and said, No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you. But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these? It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of! In the thought of him who is in comfort there is no respect for one who is in trouble; such is the fate of those whose feet are slipping. There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength. But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you; Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it. Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man. Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth? Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge. With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his. Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose. Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned. With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands; He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish; He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them; He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions; He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old; He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong; Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright; Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up. He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way. They go feeling about in the dark without light, wandering without help like those overcome with wine.
If I make sharp my shining sword, and my hand is outstretched for judging, I will give punishment to those who are against me, and their right reward to my haters. I will make my arrows red with blood, my sword will be feasting on flesh, with the blood of the dead and the prisoners, of the long-haired heads of my haters.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 27
Commentary on Isaiah 27 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 27
In this chapter the prophet goes on to show,
All this is applicable to the grace of the gospel, and God's promises to, and providences concerning, the Christian church, and such as belong to it.
Isa 27:1-6
The prophet is here singing of judgment and mercy,
Isa 27:7-13
Here is the prophet again singing of mercy and judgment, not, as before, judgment to the enemies and mercy to the church, but judgment to the church and mercy mixed with that judgment.