Isaiah 27:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

NIV: And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

NASB: It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

CSB: On that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as those dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they will worship the Lord at Jerusalem on the holy mountain.

NLT: In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the Lord on his holy mountain.

KJV: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

NKJV: So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Isaiah looks forward to the day, in the end times, when the Lord will bring home all who belong to Him. The sound of a trumpet was often used as a signal. Here, it means it is time to come in, to return, to come home. Isaiah's trumpet for the people of Israel to be gathered fits with Paul's description of the trumpet blast that will be heard at Christ's coming: "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Isaiah also reports on the future return of those scattered into Assyria and Egypt. In a literal sense, the captives of prior conquests would one day be allowed to come home (Ezra 2:1). In a secondary, further sense, during the end times, Israel will once again thrive in her own lands (Micah 4:7–8; Daniel 2:44).

This was meant to encourage those facing exile far away from Jerusalem in foreign lands. Modern Christians can enjoy a similar reassurance. There will be a resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52). The Lord will come for you. You will "return" (Hebrews 11:16) when the time is right, even if it is in the last days.

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).