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.

ISAIAH 27:9KJV
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Isaiah 27:9 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 27:9 mean?

Isaiah 27:9 connects the removal of Jacob’s sin with the destruction of objects used in false worship. “Jacob” stands for the people of Israel. The verse pictures their wrongdoing being dealt with as the stones of an altar are crushed and the objects beside it are brought down.

Following the picture of God’s punishment in verse 8, Isaiah describes its “fruit,” or result. The altar stones become like soft chalkstones smashed to pieces. The image makes the removal of the altar visible and decisive.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 27:9

  • “purged” — כָּפַר (kaphar): This word can carry the sense of dealing with wrongdoing so that it is removed or covered. Here it describes what happens to Jacob’s iniquity, meaning the people’s wrongdoing.
  • “groves” — אֲשֵׁרִים (asherim): The word refers to objects associated with the worship of Asherah. The KJV’s “groves” can suggest groups of trees, but the objects in view were associated with places of worship.
  • “images” — חַמָּנִים (ḥammanim): This word refers to objects associated with worship, often understood as incense altars. The verse places them alongside the altar stones and the “groves.”

Why Isaiah 27:9 matters

  • The verse gives a concrete picture of the result it calls “fruit.” The altar stones are not merely moved aside; they are beaten into pieces.
  • The verse joins the removal of sin to the removal of objects used in false worship. The “groves and images shall not stand up” after the altar stones are crushed.

Where else these words appear

“images” Hebrew H2553 · used in 8 verses

  • Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
  • 2 Chronicles 34:4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
  • Isaiah 17:8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.

“sunder” Hebrew H5310 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 9:19 These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread.
  • Psalms 137:9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
  • Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

“this” Hebrew H2063 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
  • Leviticus 16:3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
  • 2 Samuel 6:22 And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.

“groves” Hebrew H842 · used in 40 verses

  • Exodus 34:13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:
  • 1 Kings 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.
  • 2 Chronicles 15:16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.