Yesaya 27:2-6

27:2 When that time comes, ¹ 

sing about a delightful vineyard! ² 

27:3 I, the Lord, protect it; ³ 

I water it regularly. ⁴ 

I guard it night and day,

so no one can harm it. ⁵ 

27:4 I am not angry.

I wish I could confront some thorns and briers!

Then I would march against them ⁶  for battle;

I would set them ⁷  all on fire,

27:5 unless they became my subjects ⁸ 

and made peace with me;

let them make peace with me. ⁹ 

27:6 The time is coming when Jacob will take root; ¹⁰ 

Israel will blossom and grow branches.

The produce ¹¹  will fill the surface of the world. ¹² 

[27:2]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[27:2]  ² tn Heb “vineyard of delight,” or “vineyard of beauty.” Many medieval mss read כֶּרֶם חֶמֶר (kerem khemer, “vineyard of wine”), i.e., “a productive vineyard.”

[27:3]  ³ tn Heb “her.” Apparently “vineyard” is the antecedent, though normally this noun is understood as masculine (see Lev 25:3, however).

[27:3]  ⁴ tn Or perhaps, “constantly.” Heb “by moments.”

[27:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “lest [someone] visit [harm] upon it, night and day I guard it.”

[27:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense. For other examples of a cohortative expressing resolve after a hypothetical statement introduced by נָתַן with מִי (miwith natan), see Judg 9:29; Jer 9:1-2; Ps 55:6.

[27:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “it.” The feminine singular suffix apparently refers back to the expression “thorns and briers,” understood in a collective sense.

[27:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “or let him take hold of my refuge.” The subject of the third masculine singular verb form is uncertain. Apparently the symbolic “thorns and briers” are in view, though in v. 4b a feminine singular pronoun was used to refer to them.

[27:5]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has, “he makes peace with me, peace he makes with me.” Some contend that two alternative readings are preserved here and one should be deleted. The first has the object שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) preceding the verb עָשָׂה (’asah, “make”); the second reverses the order. Another option is to retain both statements, although repetitive, to emphasize the need to make peace with Yahweh.

[27:6]  ¹⁰ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “the coming ones, let Jacob take root.” הַבָּאִים (habba’im, “the coming ones”) should probably be emended to יָמִים בָאִים (yamim va’im, “days [are] coming”) or בְּיָמִים הַבָּאִים (biyamim habba’im, “in the coming days”).

[27:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “fruit” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[27:6]  ¹² sn This apparently refers to a future population explosion. See 26:18.