Isaiah 27:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.

NIV: When its twigs are dry, they are broken off and women come and make fires with them. For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.

NASB: When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and make a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

CSB: When its branches dry out, they will be broken off. Women will come and make fires with them, for they are not a people with understanding. Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them, and their Creator will not be gracious to them.

NLT: The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.

KJV: When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

NKJV: When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; The women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, And He who formed them will show them no favor.

Isaiah has described the desolation of a once-mighty fortified city under God's judgment (Isaiah 27:10). In the previous verse, Isaiah described the city as so desolate that wild animals wander around eating from the trees. Now he describes how the boughs of those trees, once dried out, will become wood gathered for fires by the few remnants of the city.

Commentators differ about whether this and the previous verse are about judgment against Israel or her idol-worshipping enemies. If the subject is Israel, then the city would be Jerusalem, left barren after the Babylonians conquer it in 586 BC. However, if this verse continues the theme of Israel's redemption, this fortified city the Lord has judged is the representative of the Lord's enemies (Isaiah 24:10; 26:5).

Isaiah closes this poem with a reminder about the reason for the Lord's judgment. Those opposed to the Lord lack discernment (Proverbs 1:7). He made them, but they do not acknowledge and worship Him. They worship worthless gods of their own creation. So, their true Maker has no compassion for them and does not show them favor.

Isaiah 27:7–11 explains that the nations used by the Lord to punish Israel will themselves be judged. He will measure out punishment for their sin and idolatry, and for their crimes against His people. This will serve as a form of symbolic atonement, as the pagan altars are destroyed. God will have no compassion for those who oppose Him.

This passage often uses the phrase "in that day" referring to the end times when the Lord reigns on earth as king. Then, the Israelites will be fully restored. Their "fruit" will fill the world. The nations God used as tools to judge His people will themselves be judged, but much more harshly. Defeats will happen in the meantime, but the Lord will only measure out enough discipline to trigger Israel's repentance. There will be no compassion for those who refuse to repent. He will bring all His people home to worship Him in Jerusalem in the end.

Isaiah 27 completes a section (Isaiah 24—27) about the time when the Lord will make all things right. That description begins with the Lord's judgment of the earth (Isaiah 24:1) and ends with the redemption and restoration of Israel (Isaiah 27:6). The nations God used to judge Israel will themselves be judged. The next section of Isaiah focuses on God's scathing words for those who opposed Him, including the failed leaders of Israel and Judah.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).