Isaiah 28
28
A Cornerstone of Zion
1Oy , the proud crown of Ephraim’s drunks! Its glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is at the head of the fertile valleys of those overcome with wine!
2Behold, Adonai is strong and mighty, like a hailstorm, a destructive tempest, like a downpour of overflowing water, He hurls it down to earth with His hand.
3The proud crown of Ephraim’s drunks will be trampled underfoot.
4The glorious beauty is a fading flower which is at the head of the fertile valley, like a first-ripe fig before summer— whoever sees it, swallows it up while it is still in his palm.
5In that day Adonai-Tzva’ot will be a crown of glory, a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people,
6a spirit of judgment for him who sits on the judgment seat, and strength for those turning back the battle at the gate.
7But these also reel from wine and stagger from strong drink —the kohen and the prophet reel from strong drink— are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink, they are muddled in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8Since all the tables are full of the filth of vomit, no place is left.
9To whom will He teach knowledge? To whom will He explain the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?
10For it must be ‘precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.’
11For through stammering lips and a foreign tongue He will speak to this people,
12To whom He said, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary, here is repose”— but they would not listen.
13So the word of Adonai is to them ‘precept on precept, precept on precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.’ So they walk, and fall backward, and are broken, trapped, and captured.
14Therefore hear the word of Adonai, you scoffers, who rule this people who are in Jerusalem:
15“Because you have said, ‘We cut a covenant with death, we made a pact with Sheol, so when the overflowing scourge passes through, it won’t come for us, for we have made lies our refuge, and hid ourselves in falsehood’—
16Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation— whoever trusts will not flee in haste.
17But I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line. Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and water will overflow the hiding place.
18Your covenant with death is annulled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand. An overflowing scourge will pass through and you will be its trampling place.
19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you—morning by morning, by day and by night passing through. It will be sheer terror to understand the message.’”
20For too short is the bed to stretch on, too narrow the blanket to wrap up in.
21For Adonai will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will quake with awe as at the valley of Gibeon, to do His deed, His strange deed, and to work His work, His extraordinary work.
22So now, stop your scoffing, lest your shackles be strengthened! For I have heard from Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot of destruction determined upon the whole land.
23Give ear and hear my voice! Pay attention and hear my words.
24Does a plowman plow all day to sow the seed? Does he continually break open and harrow his ground?
25No! When he has leveled its surface, he scatters dill and sows cumin, plants wheat in rows, places barley, and rye on its border.
26For his God teaches him judgment, instructing him.
27For dill is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin. Rather, dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod.
28Bread grain is crushed, but not endlessly. Rumbling cart wheels and horses over it would only crush it to powder.
29This also comes from Adonai-Tzva’ot: Wonderful is His counsel, great is His wisdom.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Isaiah 28
28
The Fate of Samaria#These verses once constituted an independent oracle against the Northern Kingdom, probably originally spoken during the time between its overthrow by Assyria in 732 and its destruction in 722/721. Isaiah has reused them as an introduction to his oracle against Judah (vv. 7–22), because the leaders of Judah were guilty of the same excesses that had once marked Ephraim’s leadership.
1Ah! majestic garland
of the drunkards of Ephraim,#Ephraim: the Northern Kingdom. Its capital, Samaria, was built upon a hill, suggestive of a majestic garland adorning a human head. The characterization of the leadership of Ephraim as drunken underscores its inattention to justice and good government (cf. 5:11–13; Am 6:1–6).
Fading blooms of his glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
upon those stupefied with wine.#Hos 7:5; Am 6:1–6.
2See, the Lord has a strong one, a mighty one,#A strong one, a mighty one: Assyria (cf. 8:7–8).
who, like an onslaught of hail, a destructive storm,
Like a flood of water, great and overflowing,
levels to the ground with violence;#Is 25:4–5; 28:17–18; 30:30.
3With feet that will trample
the majestic garland of the drunkards of Ephraim.
4The fading blooms of his glorious beauty
at the head of the fertile valley
Will be like an early fig before summer:
whoever sees it,
swallows it as soon as it is in hand.#Is 17:6; Na 3:12.
5On that day the Lord of hosts
will be a glorious crown
And a brilliant diadem
for the remnant of his people,
6A spirit of judgment
for the one who sits in judgment,
And strength for those
who turn back the battle at the gate.
Against Judah
7But these also stagger from wine
and stumble from strong drink:
Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink,
overpowered by wine;
They are confused by strong drink,
they stagger in their visions,
they totter when giving judgment.#Is 5:11–12; Mi 2:11.
8Yes, all the tables
are covered with vomit,
with filth, and no place left clean.
9#The words of those who ridicule Isaiah. The Hebrew of v. 10, by its very sound, conveys the idea of mocking imitation of what the prophet says, as though he spoke like a stammering child: “sau lasau, sau lasau, kau lakau, kau lakau, ze’er sham, ze’er sham.” But in v. 13 God repeats these words in deadly earnest, putting them in the mouth of the victorious Assyrian army. “To whom would he impart knowledge?
To whom would he convey the message?
To those just weaned from milk,
those weaned from the breast?
10For he says,
‘Command on command, command on command,
rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!’”
11#God will answer the mockers and defend Isaiah. Strange language: spoken by the invading army. Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language
he will speak to this people,#Jer 5:15; 1 Cor 14:21; Dt 28:49; Bar 4:15.
12to whom he said:
“This is the resting place,
give rest to the weary;
And this is the place of repose”—
but they refused to hear.#Is 30:9.
13So for them the word of the Lord shall be:
“Command on command, command on command,
Rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!”
So that when they walk, they shall stumble backward,
broken, ensnared, and captured.#Is 8:15.
14Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
who rule#Who rule: there is a play on words; the same expression could also mean, “Proverb makers,” that is, scoffers of this people. this people in Jerusalem:#Is 3:1–4; 5:18–21.
15You have declared, “We have made a covenant with death,
with Sheol#28:15, 18] A covenant with death, with Sheol: an alliance with foreign powers, such as Egypt and Babylon. Have made lies…a hiding place: this confidence in human aid will prove to be false and deceitful, incapable of averting the dreaded disaster. Raging flood: the Assyrian invasion; cf. 8:7–8. we have made a pact;
When the raging flood passes through,
it will not reach us;
For we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,”—#Wis 1:16; Jer 5:12.
16Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I am laying a stone in Zion,#A stone in Zion: the true and sure foundation of salvation, i.e., the presence of God, who had chosen and founded Zion as his city (Ps 78:68–69; Is 14:32) and had chosen the Davidic dynasty to rule over his people (Ps 78:70–72; Is 9:1–6; 11:1–10). Cornerstone: the assurance of salvation, rejected by the people of Judah in the prophet’s time, is picked up in Ps 118:22 and later applied to Christ; cf. Mt 21:42; Lk 20:17; Acts 4:11; Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7. Chapters 28–31 alternate between threats of the danger of rebelling against Assyria (with implied trust in Egypt) with assurances of the power and protection of the Lord.
a stone that has been tested,
A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;
whoever puts faith in it will not waver.#Ps 118:22; Mt 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:6.
17I will make judgment a measuring line,
and justice a level.—#Line…level: instruments used in constructing a building, to keep it true. They are used metaphorically here to refer to the qualities that Zion, the city of God, must manifest, judgment and justice, not bloodshed (Mi 3:10), nor deceit and violence, which would result in a bulging unstable wall doomed to destruction (Is 30:12–14). Cf. 1 Cor 3:10–17.
Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters shall flood the hiding place.
18Your covenant with death shall be canceled
and your pact with Sheol shall not stand.
When the raging flood passes through,
you shall be beaten down by it.#Is 28:2–3.
19Whenever it passes, it shall seize you;
morning after morning it shall pass,
by day and by night.
Sheer terror
to impart the message!
20For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in,
and the cover too narrow to wrap in.
21For the Lord shall rise up as on Mount Perazim,
bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon,#Mount Perazim…Valley of Gibeon: where David defeated the Philistines; cf. 2 Sm 5:20, 25; 1 Chr 14:11, 16. God’s new work will be strange, because instead of fighting for Judah as the Lord did in David’s time, God will now fight against Jerusalem (see 29:1–4).
To carry out his work—strange his work!
to perform his deed—alien his deed!
22Now, cease scoffing,
lest your bonds be tightened,
For I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord, the God of hosts,
for the whole land.#Is 5:18–19; 10:23.
The Parable of the Farmer
23#The practical variation of the farmer’s work reflects the way God deals with his people, wisely adapted to circumstances; he does not altogether crush them in their weakness. Give ear and hear my voice,
pay attention and hear my word:
24Is the plowman forever plowing in order to sow,
always loosening and harrowing the field?
25When he has leveled the surface,
does he not scatter caraway and sow cumin,#Caraway…cumin: herbs used in seasoning food. Spelt: a variety of wheat.
Put in wheat and barley,
with spelt as its border?
26His God has taught him this rule,
he has instructed him.
27For caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor does a cartwheel roll over cumin.
But caraway is beaten out with a staff,
and cumin with a rod.
28Grain is crushed for bread, but not forever;
though he thresh it thoroughly,
and drive his cartwheel and horses over it,
he does not pulverize it.
29This too comes from the Lord of hosts;
wonderful is his counsel and great his wisdom.#Rom 11:33.
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