Isaiah 28
28
Ephraim Will Fall
1How horrible it will be for the arrogant drunks of Ephraim.
Their glorious beauty is ⌞like⌟ a withered flower.
They are at the entrance to a fertile valley
where they lie drunk from wine.
2The Lord has one who is strong and powerful.
He is like a hailstorm, a destructive wind.
He is like a thunderstorm, an overwhelming flood.
He will throw them to the ground forcefully.
3The arrogant drunks of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot.
4Their glorious beauty is ⌞like⌟ a withered flower.
They are at the entrance to a fertile valley.
They will be like figs that ripened early.
As soon as someone sees them,
they will be taken and eaten.
5When that day comes, the Lord of Armies will be
like a glorious crown for his few remaining people.
6He will give a spirit of justice to those who judge.
He will give strength to those who defend the city gates in battle.
7Priests and prophets stagger from wine and wobble from too much liquor.
They stagger from too much liquor
and become confused from too much wine.
They wobble because of their liquor.
They stagger when they see visions.
They swerve as they judge.
8All the tables are covered with vomit and excrement.
There isn’t a clean place left.
9To whom will they make the message understood?
To whom will they explain this message?
To children just weaned from milk?
To those just taken from their ⌞mother’s⌟ breasts?
10They speak utter nonsense.#28:10 Or “Command for command, command for command, line for line, line for line, a little here, a little there.” Also in verse 13.
11The Lord will speak to these people.
He will mock them by speaking in a foreign language.
12He will say to them,
“This is a place for comfort.
This is a place of rest for those who are tired.
This is a place for them to rest.”
But they weren’t willing to listen.
13The Lord speaks utter nonsense to them.
That is why they will fall backwards.
That is why they will be hurt, trapped, and captured.
A Message to Jerusalem
14So hear the Lord’s word, you foolish talkers
who rule the people in Jerusalem.
15You say, “We made a treaty with death
and an agreement with the grave.
When the overwhelming disaster passes by,
it won’t matter to us,
because we have taken refuge in our lies,
and falsehood is our hiding place.”
16This is what the Almighty Lord says:
I am going to lay a rock in Zion,
a rock that has been tested,
a precious cornerstone,
a solid foundation.
Whoever believes ⌞in him⌟ will not worry.
17I will make justice a measuring line
and righteousness a plumb line.
Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
and floodwaters will wash away your hiding place.
18Your treaty with death will be wiped away.
Your agreement with the grave will not stand.
When the overwhelming disaster passes by,
you will be trampled by it.
19Each time it passes by it will take you.
It will pass by morning after morning,
during the day and during the night.
Understanding this message brings only terror.
20The bed is too short to stretch out on.
The blanket is too narrow to serve as a cover.
21The Lord will rise as he did on Mount Perazim.
He will wake up as he did in Gibeon Valley.
He will do his work, his unexpected work,
and perform his deeds, his mysterious deeds.
22Now stop laughing, or your chains will be tightened,
because I have heard that the Almighty Lord of Armies
has finally determined to destroy the whole land.
23Open your ears, and listen to me!
Pay attention, and hear me!
24Does a farmer go on plowing every day so he can plant?
Does he continue to break up the soil and make furrows in the ground?
25When he has smoothed its surface,
doesn’t he scatter black cumin seed and plant cumin?
Doesn’t he plant wild wheat in rows?
Doesn’t he put barley in its own area
and winter wheat at its borders?
26God will guide him in judgment,
and his God will teach him.
27Black cumin isn’t threshed #28:27 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain. with a sledge,
and wagon wheels aren’t rolled over cumin.
Black cumin is beaten with a rod
and cumin with a stick.
28Grain is ground into flour, but the grinding eventually stops.
It will be threshed.
The wheels of his cart will roll over it,
but his horses won’t crush it.
29All of this has come from the Lord of Armies.
His counsel is wonderful, and his wisdom is great.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 28
28
Woe to Samaria
1Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards,#Is 28:7; Hs 7:5
and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor,
which is on the summit above the rich valley.
Woe to those overcome with wine.
2Look, the Lord has a strong and mighty one#Is 8:7; 40:10 —
like a devastating hail storm,
like a storm with strong flooding water.
He will bring it across the land with his hand.
3The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,
which is on the summit above the rich valley,
will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest.#Hs 9:10; Mc 7:1; Nah 3:12
Whoever sees it will swallow it
while it is still in his hand.
5On that day
the Lord of Armies will become a crown of beauty
and a diadem of splendor#Is 62:3
to the remnant of his people,
6a spirit of justice
to the one who sits in judgment,#1Kg 3:28; Is 11:2; 32:1,15–16; Jn 5:30
and strength
to those who repel attacks at the city gate.
7Even these stagger because of wine
and stumble under the influence of beer:
Priest and prophet stagger because of beer.
They are confused by wine.#Is 5:11,22; 9:15; 22:13; 56:12; Hs 4:11
They stumble because of beer.
They are muddled in their visions.
They stumble in their judgments.
8Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit;
there is no place without a stench.
9Who is he trying to teach?
Who is he trying to instruct?
Infants#28:9 Lit Those just weaned from milk?
Babies#28:9 Lit Those removed from the breast?
10“Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.”#28:10 Hb obscure, also in v. 13
11For he will speak to this people
with stammering speech
and in a foreign language.#Is 5:26–29; 33:19; 1Co 14:21
12He had said to them,
“This is the place of rest;
let the weary rest;#Is 11:10; 30:15; 32:17–18; Jr 6:16; Mt 11:28–29
this is the place of repose.”
But they would not listen.
13The word of the Lord will come to them:
“Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there,”
so they go stumbling backward,
to be broken, trapped, and captured.#Is 8:15; Mt 21:44
A Deal with Death
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord,#Is 1:10; 39:5,8; 66:5 you scoffers#Is 29:20
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol;
when the overwhelming catastrophe#28:15 Or whip; Hb obscure, also in v. 18 passes through,#Is 8:7–8
it will not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden behind treachery.”
16Therefore the Lord God said:
“Look, I have laid a stone#Is 8:14; 26:4 in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;#Mt 21:42; Mk 12:10; Lk 20:17; Ac 4:11; 1Co 3:11; Eph 2:20
the one who believes will be unshakable.#28:16 Lit will not hurry#Rm 9:33; 1Pt 2:6
17And I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the mason’s level.”#2Kg 21:13; Is 5:16; 30:18; 61:8; Am 7:7–9
Hail will sweep away the false refuge,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,
you will be trampled.
19Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning —
every day and every night.
Only terror#2Ch 29:8; Jr 15:4; 24:9; 29:18 will cause you
to understand the message.#28:19 Or The understanding of the message will cause sheer terror
20Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its cover too small to wrap up in.
21For the Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim.#2Sm 5:20; 1Ch 14:11
He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon,#Jos 10:10,12; 2Sm 5:25; 1Ch 14:16
to do his work, his unexpected work,
and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
22So now, do not scoff,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Armies
a decree of destruction for the whole land.#Is 10:22–23; Rm 9:27–28
God’s Wonderful Advice
23Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.
24Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed?
Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
25When he has leveled its surface,
does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin?
He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,
with spelt as their border.
26His God teaches him order;
he instructs him.
27Certainly black cumin is not threshed
with a threshing board,
and a cart wheel is not rolled over the cumin.
But black cumin is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Bread grain is crushed,
but is not threshed endlessly.
Though the wheel of the farmer’s cart rumbles,
his horses do not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of Armies.
He gives wondrous advice;
he gives great wisdom.#Is 9:6; Jr 32:19
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