Chapter 27

Translation and Transliteration of

Listen to this chapter in Hebrew:

1In that day Hashem will punish, With His great, cruel, mighty sword Leviathan the Elusive Serpent— Leviathan the Twisting Serpent; He will slay the Dragon of the sea.

אבַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִפְקֹד יְהֹוָה בְּחַרְבוֹ הַקָּשָׁה וְהַגְּדוֹלָה וְהַחֲזָקָה עַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ בָּרִחַ וְעַל לִוְיָתָן נָחָשׁ עֲקַלָּתוֹן וְהָרַג אֶת־הַתַּנִּין אֲשֶׁר בַּיָּם׃

2In that day, They shall sing of it: “Vineyard of Delight.”

בבַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כֶּרֶם חֶמֶד עַנּוּ־לָהּ׃

3I Hashem keep watch over it, I water it every moment; That no harm may befall it, I watch it night and day.

גאֲנִי יְהֹוָה נֹצְרָהּ לִרְגָעִים אַשְׁקֶנָּה פֶּן יִפְקֹד עָלֶיהָ לַיְלָה וָיוֹם אֶצֳּרֶנָּה׃

4There is no anger in Me: If one offers Me thorns and thistles, I will march to battle against him, And set all of them on fire.

דחֵמָה אֵין לִי מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי שָׁמִיר שַׁיִת בַּמִּלְחָמָה אֶפְשְׂעָה בָהּ אֲצִיתֶנָּה יָּחַד׃

5But if he holds fast to My refuge, He makes Me his friend; He makes Me his friend.

האוֹ יַחֲזֵק בְּמָעוּזִּי יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם לִי שָׁלוֹם יַעֲשֶׂה־לִּי׃

6[In days] to come Yaakov shall strike root, Yisrael shall sprout and blossom, And the face of the world Shall be covered with fruit.

ha-ba-EEM yash-RAYSH ya-a-KOV ya-TZEETZ u-fa-RAKH yis-ra-AYL u-ma-l'-U f'-nay tay-VAYL t'-nu-VAH

והַבָּאִים יַשְׁרֵשׁ יַעֲקֹב יָצִיץ וּפָרַח יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמָלְאוּ פְנֵי־תֵבֵל תְּנוּבָה׃

27:6 Yaakov shall strike root

A vineyard on the Judean hills

In chapter 5, Yeshayahu describes Israel as a rebellious vine that produces inferior fruits. Here is the happy conclusion to Hashem’s song to His vineyard. While God may punish, it is not out of anger or fury (verse 4), but the hope that it will lead to harmony between Israel and Hashem. In this chapter, Israel is attached to its land with an unbreakable connection, like a deeply rooted vineyard. As a result, “Yaakov shall strike root, Yisrael shall sprout and blossom, and the face of the world shall be covered with fruit.” Indeed, with the contemporary return of the Jews to Eretz Yisrael, the former desert land has begun to blossom and bud, a sure sign of divine favor.

7Was he beaten as his beater has been? Did he suffer such slaughter as his slayers?

זהַכְּמַכַּת מַכֵּהוּ הִכָּהוּ אִם־כְּהֶרֶג הֲרֻגָיו הֹרָג׃

8Assailing them with fury unchained, His pitiless blast bore them off On a day of gale.

חבְּסַּאסְּאָה בְּשַׁלְחָהּ תְּרִיבֶנָּה הָגָה בְּרוּחוֹ הַקָּשָׁה בְּיוֹם קָדִים׃

9Assuredly, by this alone Shall Yaakov's sin be purged away; This is the only price For removing his guilt: That he make all the altar-stones Like shattered blocks of chalk— With no sacred post left standing, Nor any incense mizbayach.

טלָכֵן בְּזֹאת יְכֻפַּר עֲוׂן־יַעֲקֹב וְזֶה כָּל־פְּרִי הָסִר חַטָּאתוֹ בְּשׂוּמוֹ כָּל־אַבְנֵי מִזְבֵּחַ כְּאַבְנֵי־גִר מְנֻפָּצוֹת לֹא־יָקֻמוּ אֲשֵׁרִים וְחַמָּנִים׃

10Thus fortified cities lie desolate, Homesteads deserted, forsaken like a wilderness; There calves graze, there they lie down And consume its boughs.

יכִּי עִיר בְּצוּרָה בָּדָד נָוֶה מְשֻׁלָּח וְנֶעֱזָב כַּמִּדְבָּר שָׁם יִרְעֶה עֵגֶל וְשָׁם יִרְבָּץ וְכִלָּה סְעִפֶיהָ׃

11When its crown is withered, they break; Women come and make fires with them. For they are a people without understanding; That is why Their Maker will show them no mercy, Their Creator will deny them grace.

יאבִּיבֹשׁ קְצִירָהּ תִּשָּׁבַרְנָה נָשִׁים בָּאוֹת מְאִירוֹת אוֹתָהּ כִּי לֹא עַם־בִּינוֹת הוּא עַל־כֵּן לֹא־יְרַחֲמֶנּוּ עֹשֵׂהוּ וְיֹצְרוֹ לֹא יְחֻנֶּנּוּ׃

12And in that day, Hashem will beat out [the peoples like grain] from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt; and you shall be picked up one by one, O children of Yisrael!

יבוְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יַחְבֹּט יְהֹוָה מִשִּׁבֹּלֶת הַנָּהָר עַד־נַחַל מִצְרָיִם וְאַתֶּם תְּלֻקְּטוּ לְאַחַד אֶחָד בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

13And in that day, a great shofar shall be sounded; and the strayed who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt shall come and worship Hashem on the holy mount, in Yerushalayim.

יגוְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל וּבָאוּ הָאֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַיהֹוָה בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלָ ִם׃