Isaiah 28
28
Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem
1Ah, the proud crown of #[Hos. 7:5]the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2Behold, the Lord has #[ch. 8:7] one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like #ver. 15, 18a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 # ver. 1 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 # [Amos 8:1, 2] and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like #Hos. 9:10; Mic. 7:1a first-ripe fig#28:4 Or fruit before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 # ch. 2:11 In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,#28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6and #[1 Kgs. 3:28] a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and #[ch. 38:6]strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 # [ch. 3:12] These also reel with wine
and #Hos. 4:11 stagger with strong drink;
the priest and #ch. 9:15; 56:10, 12the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by#28:7 Or confused by wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 #
Jer. 6:10
“To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 # Cited 1 Cor. 14:21; See ch. 5:26-29 For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12to whom he has said,
# ch. 30:15; [Matt. 11:28, 29] “This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
# ch. 8:15 that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you #ver. 22; ch. 29:20scoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the #ver. 2, 18; [ch. 8:7, 8] overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made #[Rom. 1:25]lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16therefore thus says the Lord God,
# Cited Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:6; [Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11] “Behold, I am the one who has laid#28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying as a foundation #ch. 14:32in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17And I will make justice #[2 Kgs. 21:13]the line,
and righteousness #[2 Kgs. 21:13]the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18Then #ver. 15your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19As often as it passes through it will take you;
# [ch. 50:4] for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be #[2 Chr. 32:18]sheer terror to understand the message.
20For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21For the Lord will rise up #[2 Sam. 5:20; 1 Chr. 14:11] as on Mount Perazim;
# See Josh. 10:10-14 as in the Valley of #1 Chr. 14:16; See Josh. 9:3Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22Now therefore do not #ver. 14 scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard #ch. 10:23a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 # [ch. 55:10, 11] When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer#28:25 A type of wheat as the border?
26 # [ch. 21:10] For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;#28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is #Jer. 32:19; [ch. 9:6]wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
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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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