Isaiah 27:1
In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Study Note
Study Note
'In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea' — the apocalyptic opening of Isaiah 27 invokes the ancient combat-myth of divine victory over the chaos-monster (Leviathan/tannin), historicizing it as a future eschatological act. In its immediate context, Leviathan likely symbolizes Assyria, Babylon, or Egypt — the great imperial powers threatening Israel — but the mythological resonance gives the verse eschatological reach. Revelation 12:9 and 20:2 ('that old serpent... the dragon') draw directly on this imagery, making Isaiah 27:1 a key link between prophetic and apocalyptic anti-chaos theology.
Other Translations
In that day Jehovah with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent; and he will slay the monster that is in the sea.
In that day lay a charge doth Jehovah, With his sword--the sharp, and the great, and the strong, On leviathan--a fleeing serpent, And on leviathan--a crooked serpent, And He hath slain the dragon that <FI>is<Fi> in the sea.
In that day the Lord, with his great and strong and cruel sword, will send punishment on Leviathan, the quick-moving snake, and on Leviathan, the twisted snake; and he will put to death the dragon which is in the sea.
Cross References
If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, …
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of …
Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning.
And Job answered and said,
They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.
By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto …
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.
Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.