Isaiah 28
28
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem
1Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
2Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
#Is. 30:30; Ezek. 13:11Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
4And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
6For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7But they also #Prov. 20:1; Is. 5:11, 22; Hos. 4:11have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
#Is. 56:10, 12The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
9“Whom#Jer. 6:10 will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10#(2 Chr. 36:15; Neh. 9:30; Jer. 25:3, 4; 35:15; 44:4)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11For with #Is. 33:19; 1 Cor. 14:21stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12To whom He said, “This is the #Is. 30:15; Jer. 6:16; (Matt. 11:28, 29)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
#Is. 9:15; Ezek. 13:22; Amos 2:4For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
A Cornerstone in Zion
16Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion #Gen. 49:24; Ps. 118:22; Is. 8:14, 15; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; 10:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6–8a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21For the Lord will rise up as at Mount #2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chr. 14:11Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of #Josh. 10:10, 12; 2 Sam. 5:25; 1 Chr. 14:16Gibeon—
That He may do His work, #(Lam. 3:33; Luke 19:41–44)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
22Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
#Is. 10:22; Dan. 9:27A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
Listen to the Teaching of God
23Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the spelt in its place?
26For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
27For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
#Ps. 92:5; Is. 9:6; Jer. 32:19Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.
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Isaiah 28: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 28
28
Samaria Will Be Punished
1The city of Samaria
above a fertile valley
is in for trouble!
Its leaders are drunkards,
who stuff themselves
with food and wine.
But they will be like flowers
that dry up and wilt.
2Only the Lord is strong
and powerful!
His mighty hand
will strike them down
with the force of a hailstorm
or a mighty whirlwind
or an overwhelming flood.
3Every drunkard in Ephraim#28.3 Ephraim: The northern kingdom of Israel; Samaria was its capital.
takes pride in Samaria,
but it will be crushed.
4Samaria above a fertile valley
will quickly lose its glory.
It will be gobbled up
like the first ripe fig
at harvest season.
5When this time comes,
the Lord All-Powerful
will be a glorious crown
for his people who survive.
6He will see that justice rules
and that his people are able
to defend their cities.
Corrupt Leaders Will Be Punished
7Priests and prophets stumble
because they are drunk.
Their minds are too confused
to receive God's messages
or give honest decisions.
8Their tables are covered,
completely covered,
with their stinking vomit.
9You drunken leaders
are like babies!
How can you possibly understand
or teach the Lord's message?
10You don't even listen—
all you hear is senseless sound
after senseless sound.#28.10 sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 9,10.
11 #
1 Co 14.21. So, the Lord will speak
to his people
in strange sounds
and foreign languages.#28.11 in … foreign languages: This probably refers to the language of the Assyrians.
12He promised you
perfect peace and rest,
but you refused to listen.
13Now his message to you
will be senseless sound
after senseless sound.#28.13 Now … sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Then you will fall backwards,
injured and trapped.
False Security Is Fatal
14You rulers of Jerusalem
do nothing but sneer;
now you must listen
to what the Lord says.
15 #
Ws 1.16; Si 14.12. Do you think you have
an agreement with death
and the world of the dead?
Why do you trust in your lies
to keep you safe from danger
and the mighty flood?
16 #
Ps 118.22,23; Ro 9.33; 10.11; 1 P 2.6. And so the Lord says,
“I'm laying a firm foundation
for the city of Zion.
It's a valuable cornerstone
proven to be trustworthy;
no one who trusts it
will ever be disappointed.
17Justice and fairness
will be the measuring lines
that help me build.”
Hailstones and floods
will destroy and wash away
your shelter of lies.
18Your agreement with death
and the world of the dead
will be broken.
Then angry, roaring waves
will sweep over you.
19Morning, noon, and night
an overwhelming flood
will wash you away.
The terrible things that happen
will teach you this lesson:
20Your bed is too short,
your blanket too skimpy.#28.20 Your bed … skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
21 #
2 S 5.20; 1 Ch 14.11;
Js 10.10-13. The Lord will fiercely attack
as he did at Mount Perazim#28.21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
and in Gibeon Valley.#28.21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
But this time the Lord
will do something surprising,
not what you expect.
22So you had better stop sneering
or you will be in worse shape
than ever before.
I heard the Lord All-Powerful
threaten the whole country
with destruction.
All Wisdom Comes from the Lord
23Pay close attention
to what I am saying.
24Farmers don't just plow
and break up the ground.
25When a field is ready,
they scatter the seeds
of dill and cumin;
they plant the seeds
of wheat and barley
in the proper places
and sow other grains
around the edges.
26They learn this from their God.
27After dill and cumin
have been harvested,
the stalks are pounded,
not run over with a wagon.
28Wheat and barley are pounded,
but not beaten to pulp;
they are run over with a wagon,
but not ground to dust.
29This wonderful knowledge comes
from the Lord All-Powerful,
who has such great wisdom.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.