Isaiah 27:9 · Bible study
Isaiah 27:9 Commentary: The Fruit of Taking Away Sin
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Isaiah 27:9 asks: does suffering atone for sin, or does it produce repentance? Calvin, Gill, and Barnes argue the latter, idolatry's removal is the fruit.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God's judgment on Israel purges idolatry, producing genuine repentance and lasting forgiveness.
- Key words: יְכֻפַּר (yekhuphar, 'it will be atoned for'), a passive verb, underscoring God as the one who forgives; פְּרִי (peri, 'fruit'), the intended outcome of discipline.
- Main debate: Does the verse teach that suffering itself atones for sin? Calvin and Gill say no, it is the removal of idols (repentance) that brings forgiveness.
- Theological theme: The purpose of divine discipline is restorative, not punitive. God's goal is a purified people, not merely punished ones.
- Best use: Preaching on the connection between repentance and forgiveness, or pastoral counseling for those enduring hard seasons and questioning God's purpose.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Therefore Jacob’s guilt will be atoned for, and the full fruit of the removal of his sin will be this: When he makes all the altar stones like crushed bits of chalk, no Asherah poles or incense altars will remain standing.
WEB World English Bible 2000
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.
KJV King James Version 1769
By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Therefore by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be forgiven, and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: that he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, so that the Asherim and the sun-images shall rise no more.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Therefore by this is the iniquity of Jacob covered, And this is all the fruit--To take away his sin, in His setting all the stones of an altar, As chalkstones beaten in pieces, They rise not--shrines and images.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
By this, therefore, shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit of the taking away of his sin: when he shall make all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are crumbled in pieces, — the Asherahs and the sun-images shall not stand.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Therefore upon this shall the iniquity of the house of Jacob be forgiven: and this is all the fruit, that the sin thereof should be taken away, when he shall have made all the stones of the altar, as burnt stones broken in pieces, the groves and temples shall not stand.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
De esta manera pues será purgada la iniquidad de Jacob; y éste será todo el fruto, la remoción de su pecado, cuando tornare todas las piedras del altar como piedras de cal desmenuzadas, y no se levantarán los bosques|strong="H2553, H0842", ni las imágenes del sol.
Portanto assim será perdoada a maldade de Jacó, e este será o fruto completo da remoção de seu pecado: quando tornar todas as pedras dos altares como pedras de cal despedaçadas, e os mastros de Aserá e os altares de incenso não ficarem mais de pé.
Ainsi le crime de Jacob a été expié,
Darum wird dadurch die Sünde Jakobs versöhnt werden; und der Nutzen davon, daß seine Sünden weggenommen werden, ist der, daß er alle Altarsteine macht wie zerstoßene Kalksteine, daß keine Ascherabilder noch Sonnensäulen mehr bleiben.
Daarom zal daardoor de ongerechtigheid van Jakob verzoend worden, en dit is de ganse vrucht, dat Hij deszelfs zonde zal wegdoen, wanneer Hij al de stenen des altaar maken zal als verstrooide kalkstenen, de bossen en de zonnebeelden zullen niet bestaan.
In questo modo è stata espiata l’iniquità di Giacobbe, e questo è il frutto della rimozione del suo peccato: ch’Egli ha ridotte tutte le pietre degli altari come pietre di calce frantumate, in guisa che gl’idoli d’Astarte e le colonne solari non risorgeranno più.
Przetoż tym sposobem oczyszczona będzie nieprawość Jakóbowa; a tenci jest wszystek pożytek, że odejmie grzech jego, gdy rozrzuci wszystkie kamienie ołtarza, jako kamienie wapienne rozszarpane, a nie ostoją się gaje i obrazy słoneczne.
И чрез это загладится беззаконие Иакова; и плодом сего будет снятие греха с него, когда все камни жертвенников он обратит в куски извести, и не будут уже стоять дубравы и истуканы солнца.
所以，雅各 的罪孽 得赦免，他的罪過 得除掉的 果效，全 在乎此：就是他叫 祭壇的 石頭 變為打碎的 灰 石，以致木偶 和日像 不 再立起。
So by this will the sin of Jacob be covered, and this is all the fruit of taking away his punishment; when all the stones of the altar are crushed together, so that the wood pillars and the sun-images will not be put up again.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 27:9
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes the design of God's judgment on Israel: to purge sin, especially the sin of idolatry. Barnes insists the whole purpose of the Babylonian exile was 'to preserve them henceforward from relapsing into their accustomed idolatry.' Calvin and Gill both argue directly against reading the verse as teaching that afflictions themselves atone for sin; instead, chastisements are 'remedies' that lead to repentance and a turning away from idols. Keil and Delitzsch note that God punished Israel 'by measure', the punishment is a way to salvation, ceasing as soon as its purpose is secured. The 'fruit' (פְּרִי) of taking away sin is not the suffering itself, but the total destruction of idolatrous altars, Asherah poles, and incense altars. The Jewish people after the exile never again practiced large-scale idolatry, confirming the commentators' reading that the verse predicts a permanent break from this sin.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Affliction as atonement or purification: The verb 'purged/atoned' (יְכֻפַּר) and the connection to the exile (chastisement) might suggest the suffering itself cleanses sin.
- Removal of idols as the fruit of repentance: Calvin, Gill, and Barnes stress that the destruction of idolatrous altars follows from a genuine change of heart; the exile only provides the occasion for that change.
What is clear: The verse inseparably links forgiveness with the end of idolatry; the fruit God seeks is a people who no longer worship false gods.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Does suffering itself atone for sin? | All supplied Protestant commentators agree that affliction does not satisfy divine justice or earn forgiveness. Atonement belongs to Christ alone. | Roman Catholic teaching on temporal punishment and purgatory holds that suffering can have a purifying, satisfactional dimension. Some Christians read 'purged' as implying that the exile itself cleansed the people's guilt. |
| Who destroys the idols, God or Israel? | The verse describes a total end to idolatry, accomplished through judgment. | Barnes and JFB see God as the actor ('he maketh all the stones...'). Gill reads it as Jacob/Israel acting ('when he maketh...'), i.e., the people demolish their own altars as evidence of repentance. The Hebrew grammar allows both: the subject of 'makes' is not explicit. |
| What does 'altar' refer to? | It is an idolatrous altar, not the temple altar in Jerusalem. | Some (Wesley, Matthew Henry) connect it to the specific altar of Ahaz; others see a general reference to any high place used for pagan worship. |
| Is the 'fruit' the removal of sin or the reward that results? | The removal of idolatry is the direct evidence of sin being taken away. | Keil & Delitzsch read 'fruit' as what God desires from chastisement; others see it as the blessing that follows repentance, peace with God. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Isaiah 27:9 addresses the persistent problem of idolatry in Israel and Judah. From the time of the judges through the monarchy, the people repeatedly set up altars to Baal, Asherah poles, and incense altars (חַמָּנִים, sun-pillars) on high places. The Asherah (אֲשֵׁרָה) was a sacred tree or pole associated with the Canaanite goddess of fortune, often placed beside Baal's altar. The 'altar' in view is probably the idolatrous altar, not the temple altar, that Ahaz built after the Syrian model (2 Kings 16:10, 16) or other such structures. The exile to Babylon was the crisis that finally cured Israel of this habit. After 70 years in a land without temple or high places, the returning exiles never rebuilt the old pagan shrines. Cross-references like Exodus 34:13 ('break down their altars, dash in pieces their pillars, cut down their Asherah poles') and 2 Chronicles 34:4 (Josiah's reform) show that the divine command to destroy idols had long been given. The prophet here says God himself will accomplish that destruction through judgment. 'The stones of the altar' being crushed 'as chalk stones' pictures demolition so thorough that the very material is pulverized, nothing is left to rebuild. The verse stands in the context of Isaiah 27, which contrasts God's care for his vineyard (Israel) with the desolation of the fortified city (Babylon). The 'defenced city' of verse 10 is likely Babylon itself, whose fall secures Israel's release.
Textual Notes
No significant textual variants for Isaiah 27:9 are noted in the supplied sources. The Masoretic Text is stable. Some manuscripts and editions of the Septuagint read differently in verse 2 (vineyard of delight), but this does not affect verse 9.
Reception History
Isaiah 27:9 has been read in Christian tradition as a prophecy of the purifying effect of the exile on the Jewish people. Early church fathers like Jerome saw in the smashed altars a type of the destruction of idolatry through the gospel. During the Reformation, Calvin and Gill used the verse to argue that afflictions are medicinal, not expiatory, a direct challenge to the medieval doctrine of purgatory and penitential works. In later Protestant preaching, it became a key text for understanding sanctification: the believer's suffering is meant to produce the 'fruit' of holiness. Modern commentators like Keil and Delitzsch stress the covenantal context: God's judgment is measured and purposeful. Jewish interpreters have traditionally read the verse as God's promise that the people would finally abandon the sins that caused the exile.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God's discipline has a specific purpose. The Babylonian exile was not random cruelty. Barnes calls it the 'whole design', to stop the cycle of idolatry that kept leading Israel into sin.
- Forgiveness follows the removal of sin’s hold. The word for 'forgiven' (יְכֻפַּר) means 'atoned for' or 'covered.' The fruit that proves forgiveness is real is the smashing of the idols that once enslaved the people.
- Afflictions are not atonement; they are remedies. Calvin and Gill warn against confusing the result with the cause. Christ alone atones. Our own pain may drive us to repentance, but it does not pay for sin.
Five-point outline
- The promise: 'Iniquity will be atoned for.' The verb is passive, God is the agent. Forgiveness is his work.
- The condition: thorough repentance. The 'fruit' of removal is comprehensive: all altar stones, all Asherah poles, all incense altars. Half measures will not do.
- The method: God brings low what we exalt. The phrase 'makes all the stones of the altar as chalk stones' suggests divine action. God crushes the very structures we trusted.
- The result: permanent change. 'They shall rise no more.' Post-exilic Israel never returned to the old idols. Real repentance leaves lasting fruit.
- The comfort: judgment is measured. As verse 8 says, God contends 'in measure.' He stops when the goal is achieved.
Illustration hooks
- A parent removing a child’s access to something addictive. The exile was like taking away the phone or the substance, hard, but meant to save.
- Demolition for a new foundation. The pulverized chalk stones become the base for something better, a cleansed relationship with God.
- A patient undergoing chemotherapy. The treatment is painful, but its purpose is to kill the cancer, not to harm the patient. The 'fruit' is health.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God punish me for my sins, or is suffering always redemptive?
- How can I know if a hard season is discipline, or just life in a broken world?
- What does real repentance look like, is it enough to feel sorry, or do I have to change my behavior?
Leading a Discussion
Isaiah 27:9 holds two truths together: God forgives, and he also uproots the sins that entangle us. The question for the group is whether we see our own hard seasons as opportunities for this kind of cleansing. Read the verse aloud together and sit with the imagery of altar stones crushed to powder.
Discussion questions
- What stands out to you about the language of 'fruit' in this verse? Why would the removal of sin be called 'all the fruit', the entire harvest?
- The commentators argue over whether God or Israel smashes the idols. How does that question affect how we read the verse? Does it matter who acts?
- Calvin says afflictions are 'remedies,' not payment for sin. How do you distinguish between punishment and discipline in your own life?
- What 'Asherah poles' or 'incense altars' might need to be removed in your own heart, things you turn to for comfort or identity besides God?
- The exile ended a centuries-long pattern of idolatry among the Jewish people. Can you think of a time when a difficult experience permanently changed a habit or attitude in you?
- How does this verse speak to someone who feels stuck in a cycle of sin and repentance? What hope does it offer?
- If suffering does not atone for sin, then what role does it play in the Christian life? How does the cross change the meaning of our pain?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 34:13 | but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles; |
| II Kings 25:9 | He burned Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He burned every great house with fire. |
| II Kings 25:13 | The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze that were in Yahweh’s house and the bases and the bronze sea that were in Yahweh’s house, and carried the bronze pieces to Babylon. |
| II Kings 25:17 | The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of bronze was on it. The height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital around it, all of bronze; and the second pillar with its network was like these. |
| II Chronicles 14:5 | Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images; and the kingdom was quiet before him. |
| II Chronicles 34:4 | They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence; and he cut down the incense altars that were on high above them. He broke the Asherah poles, the engraved images, and the molten images in pieces, made dust of them, and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. |
| II Chronicles 36:19 | They burned God’s house, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all of its valuable vessels. |
| Ezra 3:2 | Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
The groves "And if the groves" - ולא velo. Four MSS., two ancient, of Kennicott's, and one ancient of my own, with the Septuagint; this makes a fuller sense.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that the captivity of the Jewish people was designed specifically to cure them of their persistent idolatry. God removed them from their land and destroyed their idolatrous altars and groves, so that being taken away from the temptation, they would finally be purged of that sin.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentary highlights scholarly uncertainty about these verses, noting that verse 8 does not connect naturally to the context and may be a later marginal note. The link between verses 9 and 10 is also obscure. The writer observes that the desolate city is Israel, whose continued impenitence delays its deliverance.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible notes teach that Jacob's sin is purged and removed when all traces of idolatrous worship are completely crushed. The clear proof of forgiven sin is the total destruction of false altars and images, ground to powder like chalk so they can never be set up again.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists that afflictions do not atone for sin or satisfy divine justice. Instead, they humble God's people, drive them to repentance, and lead them to apply Christ's atoning sacrifice, which alone purges their sin. He applies this especially to Jewish idolatry and future repentance.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB sees the exile as God’s direct means of purging Israel from idolatry. The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar cleansed the nation so thoroughly that the Jews have abhorred idolatry ever since, and it has never again taken hold among them.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch emphasize that God’s punishment of Israel was always measured and aimed at salvation. The guilt would be purged only when Israel finally broke apart its idolatrous altars and images, making idolatry impossible to revive. This thorough removal of sin was the intended fruit of the chastisement.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange identifies the two Leviathans and the dragon as specific historical powers: the fleeing serpent is Assyria, the coiled serpent is Babylon, and the sea dragon is Egypt. He stresses that God destroys these enemies completely, while His punishment of Israel is measured and redemptive, purging sin through exile without annihilating them.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that God's judgment falls on His own people first, not just on their enemies. Unlike the total destruction of Israel's oppressors, God's discipline of Jacob is measured and purifying, aimed at removing sin rather than annihilating the sinner.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley ties the purging of Jacob's sin directly to the destruction of idolatrous altars, especially the one Ahaz placed on the temple site. He reads the "chalk stones" as a prophecy that these grand altars will be broken into rubble and thrown down with open contempt.