Isaiah 27:8 - Exposition

Our translators have entirely mistaken the meaning of this verse. The proper rendering is, In measure , when thou puttest her away , thou wilt contend with her ; he sighed with his keen breath in the day of the east wind . "In measure" means "with forbearance and moderation"—the punishment being carefully adjusted to the degree of the offence. God was about to "put Judah away"—to banish her into a far country; but still he would refrain himself—he would "not suffer his whole displeasure to arise," or give her over wholly to destruction. In the day of the east wind , or of the national catastrophe, when his breath was fierce and hard against his people, he would "sigh" at the needful chastisement. As Dr. Kay well says, "Amid the rough and stern severity which he breathed into the tempest, there was an undertone of sadness and grief."