Single lesson
Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard
Isaiah 27:1–13
Isaiah 27:1–13 is a prophetic passage that moves from Yahweh’s victory over a great threat, to his care for his vineyard, to forgiveness, judgement, and the gathering of Israel for worship.
Before you teach
The repeated phrase “in that day” ties this passage together. It begins with Yahweh punishing leviathan, then turns to a song about a pleasant vineyard, explains Jacob’s forgiveness and the removal of false worship, and ends with Israel being gathered to worship Yahweh at Jerusalem.
Explain the central teaching of Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard, using two details from the reading. This passage teaches that Yahweh judges what opposes him, removes Jacob’s sin, and gathers the children of Israel to worship him.
Welcome: Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard
5 minIntroduce “The LORD’s Vineyard” and locate Isaiah 27:1–13. This passage teaches that Yahweh judges what opposes him, removes Jacob’s sin, and gathers the children of Israel to worship him. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 27:7, Isaiah 27:13
Read and explain the passage
12 minThe passage opens with Yahweh’s “hard and great and strong sword”. He punishes leviathan, called both a fleeing serpent and a twisted serpent, and kills the dragon in the sea. The text does not explain these figures further here, but it clearly presents Yahweh as victorious over a powerful enemy.
The future for Jacob is described with plant language: taking root, blossoming, budding, and filling the world with fruit. Then the passage asks whether Jacob was struck like his attackers. Yahweh contends “in measure”, and the fruit of forgiveness is the removal of sinful worship, with altar stones crushed and Asherah poles gone.
A fortified city is left solitary and deserted, with branches broken and burned. The reason given is lack of understanding, and the maker shows no favour. After this, the scene changes. Yahweh gathers the children of Israel one by one, and a great trumpet marks their return to worship him at Jerusalem.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “The LORD’s Vineyard”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 27:6, Isaiah 27:7, Isaiah 27:8, Isaiah 27:9, Isaiah 27:10, Isaiah 27:11, Isaiah 27:12, Isaiah 27:13
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What does Yahweh say he does for the vineyard?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This passage teaches that Yahweh judges what opposes him, removes Jacob’s sin, and gathers the children of Israel to worship him. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Isaiah 27:3, Isaiah 27:9, Isaiah 27:12, Isaiah 27:13
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “The LORD’s Vineyard” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 27:7, Isaiah 27:13
Closing: return to The LORD’s Vineyard
3 minRevisit Isaiah 27:1–13. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The LORD’s Vineyard and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 27:7, Isaiah 27:13
Questions to explore
What does Yahweh say he does for the vineyard?
Look for the three actions he names himself: keeping it, watering it, and guarding it.
Isaiah 27:3
How does verse 9 describe the fruit of taking away Jacob’s sin?
Answer from the details about the altar stones, Asherah poles, and incense altars.
Isaiah 27:9
What happens to the children of Israel at the end of the passage?
Notice both parts of the answer: they are gathered one by one, and they come to worship Yahweh in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 27:12, Isaiah 27:13
Make, think or respond
Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Isaiah 27:1–13. Use “The LORD’s Vineyard” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Isaiah 27: The LORD’s Vineyard connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “The LORD’s Vineyard” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Isaiah 27:1–13. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Isaiah 27:1–13. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Isaiah 27
1 In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and leviathan, the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.
2 In that day, sing to her, “A pleasant vineyard!
3 I, Yahweh, am its keeper. I will water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I will keep it night and day.
4 Wrath is not in me, but if I should find briers and thorns, I would do battle! I would march on them and I would burn them together.
5 Or else let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me. Let him make peace with me.”
6 In days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and bud. They will fill the surface of the world with fruit.
7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or are they killed like those who killed them were killed?
8 In measure, when you send them away, you contend with them. He has removed them with his rough blast in the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones that are beaten in pieces, so that the Asherah poles and the incense altars shall rise no more.
10 For the fortified city is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness. The calf will feed there, and there he will lie down, and consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off. The women will come and set them on fire, for they are a people of no understanding. Therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them, and he who formed them will show them no favor.
12 It will happen in that day that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel.
13 It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.