Isaiah 28
28
CHAPTER 28
1Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunken men of Ephraim, and to the flower falling down of the glory of the full out joying thereof, that were in the top of the fattest valley, and erred of wine.
2Lo! the mighty and strong Lord, as the fierceness of hail, and whirlwind breaking altogether, as the fierceness of many waters flowing, and sent out on a large land.
3The crown of pride of the drunken men of Ephraim shall be defouled with feet,
4and the flower of [the] glory of the full out joying of him, that is on the top of the valley of fat things, shall be falling down, as a timely thing before the ripeness of harvest; which when a man seeing beholdeth, anon as he taketh with hand, he shall devour it.
5In that day the Lord of hosts shall be a crown of glory, and a garland of full out joying, to the residue of his people;
6and a spirit of doom to him that sitteth on the throne, and strength to them that turn again from [the] battle to the gate.
7But also they knew not for wine, and erred for drunkenness; the priest and prophet knew not for drunken-ness; they were sopped up of wine, they erred in drunkenness; they knew not a prophet, they knew not doom.
8For why all boards were filled with spewing and filths, so that there was no more place.
9Whom shall he teach knowing, and whom shall he make to understand [the] hearing? Men weaned from milk, men drawn away from teats.
10For why command thou, command thou again; command thou, command thou again; abide thou, abide thou again; abide thou, abide thou again; a little there, a little there.
11For why in [the] speech of lip, and in other language, he shall speak to this people,
12to which he said, This is my rest; refresh ye a weary man, and this is my refreshing; and they would not hear.
13And the word of the Lord shall be to them, Send thou, send thou again; send thou, send thou again; abide thou, abide thou again; abide thou, abide thou again; a little there, a little there; that they go, and fall backward, and be all-broken, and be snared, and be taken.
14For this thing, ye men scorners, that be lords over my people which is in Jerusalem, hear the word of the Lord.
15For ye said, We have smitten a bond of peace with death, and we have made covenant with hell; a scourge flowing, when it shall pass, shall not come [up] on us, for we have set a leasing our hope, and we be covered with a leasing.
16Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall send in the foundaments of Zion a cornerstone precious, proved, founded in the foundament; he that believeth, shall not hasten.
17And I shall set doom in weight, and rightfulness [or rightwiseness] in measure; and hail shall destroy the hope of leasing, and waters shall flow on protection.
18And your bond of peace with death shall be done away, and your covenant with hell shall not stand; when the scourge flowing shall pass, ye shall be to it into defouling.
19Whenever it shall pass, it shall take away you; for why early in the gray morrowtide it shall pass, in day and night; and only travail alone shall give understanding to [the] hearing.
20Forsooth the bed is strait, so that the tother fall down; and a short mantle shall not cover ever either.
21For as in the hill of partings [or divisions] the Lord shall stand, as in the valley, which is in Gibeon, he shall be wroth, that he do his work; his work alien [or alien is his work], that he work his work; his work is strange from him.
22And now do not ye scorn, lest peradventure your bonds be made strait together; for I heard of the Lord God of hosts, ending and abridging on all earth.
23Perceive ye with ears, and hear ye my voice; perceive ye, and hear ye my speech.
24Whether he that eareth, shall ear all day, for to sow, and shall he carve, and purge his land?
25Whether when he hath made even the face thereof, shall he not sow gith, and sprinkle abroad cumin? and he shall not set wheat by order, and barley, and millet, and fitches in his coasts?
26And his God shall teach him, in doom he shall teach him.
27Forsooth gith shall not be threshed in saws, and a wheel of a wain shall not compass on [the] cumin; but gith shall be beaten out with a rod, and [the] cumin with a staff.
28Soothly bread shall be made less, but he that thresheth shall not thresh it without end, neither shall travail it with a wheel of a wain, neither shall make it less with his claws.
29And this thing went out of the Lord God of hosts, that he should make wonderful counsel, and magnify rightfulness [or rightwiseness].
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Isaiah 28: WBMS
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Wycliffe’s Bible with Modern Spelling ©2017
Wycliffe’s Apocrypha ©2013, 2015
Wycliffe’s Bible © 2012, 2015
Wycliffe’s New Testament ©2001, 2011
Wycliffe’s Old Testament ©2001, 2010
Isaiah 28
28
A Message about Samaria
1What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel.#28:1 Hebrew What sorrow awaits the crowning glory of the drunks of Ephraim, referring to Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
It is the pride of a people
brought down by wine.
2For the Lord will send a mighty army against it.
Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain,
they will burst upon it like a surging flood
and smash it to the ground.
3The proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel#28:3 Hebrew The crowning glory of the drunks of Ephraim; see note on 28:1.—
will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet.
4It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
Whoever sees it will snatch it up,
as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten.
5Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will himself be Israel’s glorious crown.
He will be the pride and joy
of the remnant of his people.
6He will give a longing for justice
to their judges.
He will give great courage
to their warriors who stand at the gates.
7Now, however, Israel is led by drunks
who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol
and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions
and stagger as they render decisions.
8Their tables are covered with vomit;
filth is everywhere.
9“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask.
“Why does he speak to us like this?
Are we little children,
just recently weaned?
10He tells us everything over and over—
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there!”
11So now God will have to speak to his people
through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
12God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
But they would not listen.
13So the Lord will spell out his message for them again,
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there,
so that they will stumble and fall.
They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
14Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
15You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
and have made a deal to dodge the grave.#28:15 Hebrew Sheol; also in 28:18.
The coming destruction can never touch us,
for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”
16Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,#28:16a Hebrew in Zion.
a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
Whoever believes need never be shaken.#28:16b Greek version reads Look! I am placing a stone in the foundation of Jerusalem [literally Zion], / a precious cornerstone for its foundation, chosen for great honor. / Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Compare Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6.
17I will test you with the measuring line of justice
and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
a flood will sweep it away.
18I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
you will be trampled into the ground.
19Again and again that flood will come,
morning after morning,
day and night,
until you are carried away.”
This message will bring terror to your people.
20The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
21The Lord will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
he will come to do an unusual deed:
22For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
or your punishment will be even greater.
23Listen to me;
listen, and pay close attention.
24Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
25Does he not finally plant his seeds—
black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—
each in its proper way,
and each in its proper place?
26The farmer knows just what to do,
for God has given him understanding.
27A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin;
rather, it is beaten with a light stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin;
instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.
28Grain for bread is easily crushed,
so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
He threshes it under the wheels of a cart,
but he doesn’t pulverize it.
29The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
and he gives the farmer great wisdom.
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