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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Isaiah 28: NABRE
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
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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