Isaiah 28
28
XXVIII
1Wo to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
Even the fading flower, their glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the rich valley of the men that are stupified with wine.
2Behold the strong and mighty one of the Lord!
Like a storm of hail, a destructive tempest;
Like a flood of mighty and overflowing waters,
Shall he dash it to the ground with his mighty hand.
3Under foot shall it be trodden down,
The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.
4The fading flower, their glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the rich valley,
Shall be as an early fig before summer;
Which a man seeth, and while it is yet scarcely in his hand, he swalloweth it up.
5In that day shall Jehovah of hosts become a beauteous crown,
And glorious diadem, to the residue of his people;
6And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment;
And strength to them that turn back the battle to the gate.
7But even these have erred through wine, and through strong drink they have reeled:
The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink;
They are overcome by wine, they have reeled through strong drink;
They have erred in vision, they have stumbled in judgment
8For all tables are full of filthy vomit;
So that no place is free.
9Whom, say they, would he teach knowledge?
And to whom would he impart instruction?
Are we infants weaned from the milk?
Scarcely removed from the breasts?
10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
Line upon line, line upon line;
Here a little, and there a little.
11Yea verily, by speakers of a strange language, and in a foreign tongue,
Will He speak to this people.
12For when He said unto them:
This is the true rest; give ye rest unto the weary;
And this is the place of happiness; they would not hear.
13But the word of Jehovah was unto them,
Precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
Line upon line, line upon line;
Here a little, and there a little:
That they should go on, and fall backward, and be broken;
And be snared, and taken.
14Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers;
Ye rulers of this people which is in Jerusalem.
15Because ye have said: We have made a covenant with death,
And with the grave we have made an agreement:
The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not reach us:
For we have made lying our refuge;
And under falsehood have we hid ourselves.
16Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah:
Behold! I have laid in Zion for a foundation a stone,
A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation:
He that confideth in it shall not make haste.
17And I will set judgment for a line,
And righteousness for a plummet;
And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lying,
And the hiding place the waters shall overwhelm.
18And your covenant with death shall be annulled;
And your agreement with the grave shall not stand:
When the overflowing scourge posseth through,
By it shall ye be trodden down.
19As oft as it passeth through, shall it seize you;
For morning after morning shall it pass through,
By day and by night:
And even the report alone shall cause terror.
20For the bed is too short, for one to stretch himself out at length;
And the covering too narrow, for one to wrap himself therein.
21For as in mount Perazim, Jehovah will arise;
As in the valley of Gibeon, shall he be moved with anger;
That he may perform his work, his strange work;
And to bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22Now therefore give not up yourselves to scoffing,
Lest your bands be tightened:
For the havock, even the judgment decreed have I heard
From the Lord Jehovah of hosts, upon the whole land.
23Give ye ear, and hear my voice;
Attend, and hearken unto my words.
24Doth the ploughman plough all day long that he may sow?
Doth he always open and break the clods of his ground!
25Doth he not also, when he hath levelled the surface thereof,
Cast abroad the dill, and scatter the cummin;
And set the wheat in rows,
And the barley in its appointed place,
And the spelt in its proper border?
26For He instructeth him as to the right way,
His God it is that teacheth him.
27For the dill is not threshed with the threshing sledge,
Nor is the wheel of the wain made to roll over the cummin:
But the dill is beaten out with a staff,
And the cummin with a rod.
28Bread-corn is threshed:
But not for ever will he continue thus to thresh it;
Though he driveth along the wheels of his wain,
And his horses, he will not bruise it to dust.
29This also cometh from Jehovah of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel, great in wisdom.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 28: TEG
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 28
28
Judgment on Ephraim and Judah
1Oh, the majestic garland of Ephraim’s drunks
and the fading flower of its splendid beauty
on the head that flows with perfume#28.1 DSS (1QIsaa)
of those hammered with wine.
2Look! The Lord has someone who is powerful and strong;
like a hailstorm, a disastrous tempest,
like a downpour of mighty, overflowing waters,
he can level them to the ground with his hand.
3The majestic garland of Ephraim’s drunks
will be trampled underfoot.
4The withered flower, which is a thing of beauty#28.4 Heb uncertain
as it sits on the head of those bloated with fat,#28.4 Or at the head of the fat valley
will be like an early fig before the summer harvest:
whoever sees it swallows it as soon as it is in hand.
5On that day, the LORD of heavenly forces will be a splendid garland and a beautiful wreath for the people who survive, 6and a spirit of justice for the one who sits in judgment, and a strength for those who repel the assault at the gate.
7These also stagger from wine and stumble from beer:
priest and prophet stagger from beer;
they are confused by wine;
they stray on account of beer;
they err when receiving visions;
they stumble when making judgments.
8All the tables are covered with vomit;
filth overruns the place.
9To whom will God teach knowledge?
To whom will he explain the message?
To those just weaned from milk?
To those who have hardly outgrown the breast?
10It is “tsav letsav, tsav letsav; qav leqav, qav leqav,”#28.10 A Hebrew version of baby talk or gibberish
a little of this, a little of that.
11With derisive speech and a foreign tongue,
he will speak to this people.
12He has said to them,
“This is the place of rest;
give rest to the weary;
this is the place of repose”;
but they refused to listen.
13So the LORD’s word will be for them:
“tsav letsav, tsav letsav; qav leqav, qav leqav,”
a little of this, a little of that.
So that they will go and stagger backward,
they will be broken, snared, and captured.
The covenant with death overturned
14Therefore, hear the LORD’s word,
you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death;#28.15 Heb Maveth
with the underworld#28.15 Heb Sheol we made a pact.
When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us;
for we have made lies our hiding place,
and in falsehood we take shelter.”
16Therefore, the LORD God says:
Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone,
a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone,
a sure foundation:
the one who trusts won’t tremble.
17I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line.
But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies,
and water will overflow the shelter.
18Your deal with death#28.18 Heb Maveth will be dissolved,
and your pact with the grave#28.18 Heb Sheol won’t stand.
The rushing flood: when it passes through,
you will be annihilated by it.
19Every time it passes through it will take you,
for morning by morning it will pass,
by day and by night.
It will be nothing but terror to understand the message.
20The bed is too short to stretch out,
and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself.
21Just as on Mount Perazim, the LORD will rise up;
as in the Gibeon Valley he will rage to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
And to work his work—foreign is his work!
22So now stop your scoffing,
or your chains will be tightened,
because destruction has been ordered—I have heard it!—
by the LORD God of heavenly forces against the whole land.
Plowing and threshing
23Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear my word:
24Does the plowman plow without stopping for planting,
opening and harrowing their ground?
25When he has smoothed its surface,
doesn’t he scatter fennel,#28.25 Or black cumin and sow cumin,
and plant wheat and barley in their places,
and spelt as a border?
26They are properly ordered;
their God directs them.#28.26 Or waters them
27Fennel#28.27 Or black cumin isn’t threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but fennel#28.27 Or black cumin is beaten with a staff,
and cumin with a rod.
28Bread grain is crushed,
but the thresher#28.28 DSS (1QIsaa) doesn’t thresh it forever.
He drives the cart wheel over it;
he spreads it out but doesn’t crush it.
29This also comes from the LORD of heavenly forces,
who gives wondrous counsel and increases wisdom.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.