Bible Strands
Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — In Isaiah 27:1, the prophet delivers a divine declaration concerning a future time when Yahweh will execute judgment. The context places this pronouncement immediately before a call to sing about a fruitful vineyard in the following verse.
The words — The Hebrew יִפְקֹד (yif.Kod) means "he will visit" or execute judgment, paired with three adjectives describing Yahweh's weapon: הַ/קָּשָׁ֜ה (ha./ka.Shah, fierce), וְ/הַ/גְּדוֹלָ֣ה (ve./ha./ge.do.Lah, great), and וְ/הַֽ/חֲזָקָ֗ה (ve./ha./cha.za.Kah, mighty).
The thread — This imagery of divine judgment by sword appears in Isaiah 66:16, where the LORD executes judgment on all flesh by fire and sword, and echoes the motif of God's arm awakening in Isaiah 51:9.
Why it lands — The text asserts that Yahweh will personally wield a fierce, great, and mighty sword to slay Leviathan and the dragon of the sea. It demands recognition of God's absolute authority to destroy chaotic forces before restoration is celebrated.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD. Wake up as in days past, as in generations of old. Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced through the dragon?
- Isaiah 66:16 For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.
- Ezekiel 29:3 Speak to him and tell him that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster who lies among his rivers, who says, ‘The Nile is mine; I made it myself.’
- Revelation 12:3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.
- Job 26:13 By His breath the skies were cleared; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
- Psalms 104:26 There the ships pass, and Leviathan, which You formed to frolic there.
- Revelation 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
- Psalms 74:13 You divided the sea by Your strength; You smashed the heads of the dragons of the sea;
- Revelation 19:21 And the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of the One seated on the horse. And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
- Job 40:19 He is the foremost of God’s works; only his Maker can draw the sword against him.