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
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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