Isaiah 27:3 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 27:3 mean?

Isaiah 27:3 presents the LORD as the attentive keeper of a vineyard. The verse pictures his care for his people as the work of someone who supplies a vineyard’s needs and protects it from harm.

The LORD himself speaks in the verse, taking the role of the vineyard keeper. After the vineyard is named in verse 2, his words make its care personal: “I the LORD” am the one watching over it. The promise reaches through both “night and day,” leaving no time outside his watch.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 27:3

• “keep” — נָצַר (natsar): This word often means to guard or watch over. Its use at both the beginning and the end of the verse frames the watering within the picture of a watchful keeper.
• “moment” — רֶגַע (regaʿ): This word can mean a brief instant. “Every moment” gives the picture of care that is continually renewed, rather than attention given only occasionally.

Why Isaiah 27:3 matters

• The vineyard stands for a people, not merely a piece of farmland. Isaiah 27:6 names “Israel” as the one that will blossom and fill the world with fruit, helping readers understand the vineyard image.
• The verse’s picture differs from the damaged vineyard in Isaiah 5. There, a vineyard representing the people of Judah produces bad fruit and is left exposed; here, the LORD speaks of watering and guarding the vineyard.
• The promise includes protection from an outside threat. “Lest any hurt it” explains why the keeper watches, giving a reason for the continuous guard.