Isaiah 28
28
Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted
1Woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the #28:1 Lit valley of fatnessfertile valley
Of those who are #28:1 Lit strickenovercome with wine!
2Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent;
As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,
He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.
3The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot.
4And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the #28:4 Lit valley of fatnessfertile valley,
Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer,
Which #28:4 Lit the one seeing seesone sees,
And #28:4 Lit while it is yetas soon as it is in his #28:4 Lit palmhand,
He swallows it.
5On that day the Lord of armies will become a beautiful crown
And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;
6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A strength to those who repel the #28:6 Lit battleonslaught at the gate.
7And these also reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink:
The priest and the prophet reel with intoxicating drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from intoxicating drink;
They reel while #28:7 Lit seeinghaving visions,
They stagger when rendering a verdict.
8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.
9¶“To whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10“For He says,
‘#28:10 Heb Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Zeer sham, zeer sham. These Hebrew fragments, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preaching.Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’ ”
11Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“#28:13 See note v 10. The Lord responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror.Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
Judah Is Warned
14Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with #28:15 I.e., the netherworldSheol we have made a #28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seerpact.
The #28:15 Or overwhelming scourgegushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”
16Therefore this is what the Lord #28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGod says:
“Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, #28:16 Lit well-laidfirmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be #28:16 Lit in a hurrydisturbed.
17“I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18“Your covenant with death will be #28:18 Lit covered overcanceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the #28:18 Or overwhelming scourgegushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its trampling ground.
19“As often as it passes through, it will #28:19 Lit takeseize you;
For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be #28:19 Lit onlysheer terror to understand #28:19 Lit the report; or the messagewhat it means.”
20The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the blanket is too #28:20 Lit narrowsmall to wrap oneself in.
21For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon,
To do His task, His #28:21 Lit task is strangeunusual task,
And to work His work, His #28:21 Lit work is foreignextraordinary work.
22And now do not carry on as scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord #28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered LordGod of armies
Of decisive destruction on all the earth.
23¶Listen and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24Does the #28:24 Lit plowmanfarmer plow #28:24 Lit all daycontinually to plant seed?
Does he continually #28:24 Lit openturn and break up his ground?
25Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter cumin
And #28:25 Lit putplant wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its #28:25 Lit regionarea?
26For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel #28:27 Lit rolleddriven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually #28:28 Lit discomfitdamage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
29This also comes from the Lord of armies,
Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.
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Isaiah 28: NASB2020
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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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