New Living Translation
Isaiah 27:10
10The fortified towns will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds. Calves will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches.
Isaiah 27:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
- New International Version (NIV)The fortified city stands desolate, an abandoned settlement, forsaken like the wilderness; there the calves graze, there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
- English Standard Version (ESV)For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness; there the calf grazes; there it lies down and strips its branches.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Yet the fortified city will be desolate, The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down And consume its branches.
Context of Isaiah 27:10
8No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account. She was exiled from her land as though blown away in a storm from the east. 9The Lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness, to take away all her sin. As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust. No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing. The fortified towns will be silent and empty, the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds. Calves will graze there, chewing on twigs and branches. 11The 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. 12Yet the time will come when the Lord will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them—from the Euphrates River in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west.
Read all of Isaiah 27Isaiah 27:10 word by word
כִּ֣י עִ֤יר בְּצוּרָה֙ בָּדָ֔ד נָוֶ֕ה מְשֻׁלָּ֥ח וְנֶעֱזָ֖ב כַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר שָׁ֣ם יִרְעֶ֥ה עֵ֛גֶל וְשָׁ֥ם יִרְבָּ֖ץ וְכִלָּ֥ה סְעִפֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Yet the defencedבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
- cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- desolateבָּדָדbâdâd · isolationH910
- the habitationנָוֶהnâveh nâvâh · pastureH5116
- forsakenשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- and leftעָזַב‛âzab · to leave: forsakeH5800
- like a wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- there shall the calfעֵ֫גֶל‛êgel · calfH5695
- feedרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
- and there shall he lie downרָבַץrâbats · to stretchH7257
- and consumeכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- the branchesסָעִיףsâ‛îyph · cleftH5585
Cross-references for Isaiah 27:10
- Isaiah 5:9But I have heard the Lord of Heaven’s Armies swear a solemn oath: “Many houses will stand deserted; even beautiful mansions will be empty.
- Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland;
- Isaiah 17:9Their largest cities will be like a deserted forest, like the land the Hivites and Amorites abandoned when the Israelites came here so long ago. It will be utterly desolate.
- Isaiah 25:2You turn mighty cities into heaps of ruins. Cities with strong walls are turned to rubble. Beautiful palaces in distant lands disappear and will never be rebuilt.
- Isaiah 64:10Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.
- Jeremiah 26:6then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’”
- Lamentations 1:4The roads to Jerusalem are in mourning, for crowds no longer come to celebrate the festivals. The city gates are silent, her priests groan, her young women are crying— how bitter is her fate!
- Lamentations 2:5Yes, the Lord has vanquished Israel like an enemy. He has destroyed her palaces and demolished her fortresses. He has brought unending sorrow and tears upon beautiful Jerusalem.
- Lamentations 5:18For Jerusalem is empty and desolate, a place haunted by jackals.
- Ezekiel 36:4Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. He speaks to the hills and mountains, ravines and valleys, and to ruined wastes and long-deserted cities that have been destroyed and mocked by the surrounding nations.
- Micah 3:12Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins! A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.
- Luke 19:43Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side.
- Luke 21:20“And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived.
- Isaiah 7:25No one will go to the fertile hillsides where the gardens once grew, for briers and thorns will cover them. Cattle, sheep, and goats will graze there.
- Isaiah 17:2The towns of Aroer will be deserted. Flocks will graze in the streets and lie down undisturbed, with no one to chase them away.
- Isaiah 32:13For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.
Commentaries on Isaiah 27:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10There shall the calf feed - That is, the king of Egypt, says Kimchi.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Yet the defensed city - Gesenius supposes that this means Jerusalem. So Calvin and Piscator understand it. Others understand it of Samaria, others of Babylon (as Vitringa, Rosenmuller, and Grotius), and others of cities in general, denoting those in Judea, or in other places. To me it seems plain that Babylon is referred to. The whole description seems to require this; and especially the fact that this song is supposed to be sung after the return from…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 In the days of the gospel, the latter days, the gospel church shall be more firmly fixed than the Jewish church, and shall spread further. May our souls be continually watered and kept, that we may abound in the fruits of the Spirit, in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. The Jews yet are kept a separate and a numerous people; they have not been rooted out as those who slew them. The condition of that nation, through so many ages, forms a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10Places previously associated with human power and accomplishment would be ruined to the extent that animals would graze in them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. city--Jerusalem; the beating asunder of whose altars and images was mentioned in Is 27:9 (compare Is 24:10-12). calf feed--(Is 17:2); it shall be a vast wild pasture. branches--resuming the image of the vine (Is 27:2,6).Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries