Isaiah 28
28
1Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: 4and the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. 5In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, 6and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: 11for with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. 12To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. 13But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 19From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. 21For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 22Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? 26For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
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Isaiah 28: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James VersionIsaiah 28
28
Judgment against the Leaders of Ephraim
1Ah! The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim
and the withering flower of the glory of his beauty,
which is at the head of the rich valley,#Literally “a valley of fat” ones overcome#Literally “ones struck” with wine!
2Look! The Lord has a mighty and strong one,
like a rainstorm of hail, a wind storm of destruction,
like a rainstorm of mighty overflowing waters,
he will put them to the earth with his hand.
3The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled#The Hebrew is plural by feet,
4and the withering flower of the glory of its beauty which is at the head of the rich valley#Literally “a valley of fat” will be like its early fig before summer,
which the one who sees it swallows#Literally “Which, when the one who sees it sees it, he swallows it” while it is still in his hand.
5In that day, Yahweh of hosts will become a garland of glory
and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people,
6and a spirit of justice to the one who sits over judgment,
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7And these also stagger because of wine
and stagger because of strong drink;
priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink;
they are confused#Or “swallowed” because of wine.
They stagger because of strong drink;
they err in vision.
They stagger in the rendering of a decision,
8for all the tables are full of disgusting vomit, with no place left.#Literally “without a place”
9To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?
10For it is blah-blah upon blah-blah,
blah-blah upon blah-blah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,#In this context, the Hebrew expressions tsaw-tsaw and qaw-qaw are likely meant to sound like baby talk, but they could mean “command upon command” and “rule upon rule”
a little here, a little there.
11For he will speak with stammering#Literally “stammer of lip” and another tongue to this people, 12to whom he has said,
“This is rest; give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”; yet#Or “and” they were not willing to hear.
13And to them the word of Yahweh will be
blah-blah upon blah-blah
blah-blah upon blah-blah
gah-gah upon gah-gah
gah-gah upon gah-gah,#In this context, the Hebrew expressions tsaw-tsaw and qaw-qaw are likely meant to sound like baby talk, but they could mean “command upon command” and “rule upon rule”
a little here, a little there,
so that they may go and stumble backward
and be broken and ensnared and captured.
The Cornerstone of Zion
14Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, men of mockery,
rulers of these people in Jerusalem:
15Because you have said,
“We have made#Literally “cut” a covenant with death,
and we have made an agreement with Sheol.
The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us,
for we have made lies#Hebrew “lie” our refuge,
and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.”
16Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:
“Look! I am laying a stone in Zion,
a tested#Literally “testing” stone,
a precious cornerstone,
a founded foundation:
‘The one who trusts will not panic.’#Literally “hurry”
17And I will make justice the measuring line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,#Hebrew “lie”
and waters will flood over the hiding place.
18And your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
you will become a trampling place for the overwhelming flood when it passes through.
19As often as it passes through,#Literally “From enough his passing through” it will take you,
for morning by morning#Literally “in the morning in the morning” it will pass through,
in the day and in the night,
and understanding the message will be only terror.”
20For the bed is too short to stretch out on,#Literally “from stretching oneself”
and the covering is too narrow when wrapping oneself.
21For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount Perazim;
he will rave as in the valley at Gibeon
to do his deed—his deed is strange—
and to work his work—his work is alien!
22And now you must not scoff,
or your bonds will be strong,
for I have heard from the Lord, Yahweh of hosts:
complete destruction
decreed upon all the land.
A Parable of Yahweh’s Work
23Listen, and hear my voice!
Listen attentively, and hear my word!
24Is it all day that the plowman plows,
opens to sow seed, harrows his ground?
25When he has leveled its surface,#Literally “face” does he not scatter dill,
and sow cumin seed,
and plant#Literally “place” wheat in planted rows,#Hebrew “row”
and barley in an appointed place,
and spelt grain as its border?
26And his God instructs him about the prescription;#That is, “the proper way”
he teaches him.
27For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a wheel of a utility cart rolled#Literally “turned” over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Grain is crushed fine,
but certainly one does not thresh it forever;
and one drives the wheel of his cart,
but his horses do not crush it.
29This also comes forth from Yahweh of hosts.
He is wonderful in advice;
he makes great wisdom.
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