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
The Captivity of Ephraim
1Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s #28:1 That is, the northern kingdom of Israel; also in verse 3 drunkards,
to the fading flower of his glorious splendor,
set on the summit above the fertile valley,
the pride of those overcome by wine.
2Behold, the Lord has one
who is strong and mighty.
Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest,
like a driving rain or flooding downpour,
he will smash that crown to the ground.
3The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,
set on the summit above the fertile valley,
will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest:
Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.
5On that day the Lord of Hosts will be a crown of glory,
a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,
6a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
7These also stagger from wine
and stumble from strong drink:
Priests and prophets reel from strong drink
and are befuddled by wine.
They stumble because of strong drink,
muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
8For all their tables are covered with vomit;
there is not a place without filth.
9Whom is He trying to teach?
To whom is He explaining His message?
To infants just weaned from milk?
To babies removed from the breast?
10For they hear:#28:10 Or For He says; or For it is; literally For
“Order on order, order on order,
line on line, line on line;#28:10 Or Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; Hebrew sav lasav sav lasav kav lakav kav lakav (possibly meaningless sounds to demonstrate an inability to understand); also in verse 13
a little here, a little there.”
11Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues,
He will speak to this people #28:11 Cited in 1 Corinthians 14:21 12to whom He has said:
“This is the place of rest, let the weary rest;
this is the place of repose.”
But they would not listen.
13Then the word of the Lord to them will become:
“Order on order, order on order,
line on line, line on line;
a little here, a little there,”
so that they will go stumbling backward
and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.
A Cornerstone in Zion
(1 Corinthians 3:10–15; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:1–8)
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, O scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15For you said, “We have made a covenant with death;
we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol.
When the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not touch us,
because we have made lies our refuge
and falsehood #28:15 Or false gods our hiding place.”
16So this is what the Lord GOD says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
the one who believes will never be shaken.#28:16 LXX will never be put to shame; cited in Romans 9:33, Romans 10:11, and 1 Peter 2:6
17I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the level.
Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18Your covenant with death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be trampled by it.
19As often as it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will sweep through morning after morning,
by day and by night.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.
20Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and the blanket too small to wrap around you.
21For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim.
He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon,
to do His work, His strange work,
and to perform His task, His disturbing task.
22So now, do not mock,
or your shackles will become heavier.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts
a decree of destruction against the whole land.
Listen and Hear
23Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.
24Does the plowman plow for planting every day?
Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?
25When he has leveled its surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?
He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,
and rye within its border.
26For his God instructs
and teaches him properly.
27Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin.
But caraway is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Grain for bread must be ground,
but it is not endlessly threshed.
Though the wheels of the cart roll over it,
the horses do not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of Hosts,
who is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.