Isaiah 28
28
1 WOE TO [Samaria] the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim [the ten tribes], and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome and smitten down with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty one [the Assyrian]; like a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, like a flood of mighty overflowing waters, he will cast it down to the earth with violent hand.
3 With [alien] feet [Samaria] the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden down.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like the early fig before the fruit harvest, which, when anyone sees it, he snatches and eats it up greedily at once. [So in an amazingly short time will the Assyrians devour Samaria, Israel's capital.]
5 [But] in that [future Messianic] day the Lord of hosts shall become a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the [converted] remnant of His people,
6 And a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment and administers the law, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 But even these reel from wine and stagger from strong drink: the priest and the prophet reel from strong drink; they are confused from wine, they stagger and are gone astray through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble when pronouncing judgment.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, so that there is no place that is clean.
9 To whom will He teach knowledge? [Ask the drunkards.] And whom will He make to understand the message? Those who are babies, just weaned from the milk and taken from the breasts? [Is that what He thinks we are?]
10 For it is [His prophets repeating over and over]: precept upon precept, precept upon precept, rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little.
11 No, but [the Lord will teach the rebels in a more humiliating way] by men with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people [says Isaiah, and teach them His lessons].
12 To these [complaining Jews the Lord] had said, This is the true rest [the way to true comfort and happiness] that you shall give to the weary, and, This is the [true] refreshing–yet they would not listen [to His teaching].
13 Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them [merely monotonous repeatings of]: precept upon precept, precept upon precept, rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little–that they may go and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15 Because you have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have an agreement–when the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a Stone, a tested Stone, a precious Cornerstone of sure foundation; he who believes (trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone) will not be ashamed or give way or hasten away [in sudden panic]. [Ps. 118:22; Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Rom. 9:33; Eph. 2:20; I Pet. 2:4-6.]
17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the hiding place (the shelter).
18 And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol (the place of the dead) shall not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, then you will be trodden down by it.
19 As often as it passes through, it [the enemy's scourge] will take you; for morning by morning will it pass through, by day and by night. And it will be utter terror merely to hear and comprehend the report and the message of it [but only hard treatment and dispersion will make you understand God's instruction].
20 For [they will find that] the bed is too short for a man to stretch himself on and the covering too narrow for him to wrap himself in. [All their sources of confidence will fail them.]
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim, He will be wrathful as in the Valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work, and bring to pass His act, His strange act. [II Sam. 5:20; I Chron. 14:16.]
22 Now therefore do not be scoffers, lest the bands which bind you be made strong; for a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land and the whole earth.
23 Give ear and hear my [Isaiah's] voice; listen and hear my words.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continue to plow and harrow the ground after it is smooth?
25 When he has leveled its surface, does he not cast abroad [the seed of] dill or fennel and scatter cummin [a seasoning], and put the wheat in rows, and barley in its intended place, and spelt [an inferior kind of wheat] as the border?
26 [And he trains each of them correctly] for his God instructs him correctly and teaches him.
27 For dill is not threshed with a sharp threshing instrument, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; but dill is beaten off with a staff, and cummin with a rod [by hand].
28 Does one crush bread grain? No, he does not thresh it continuously. But when he has driven his cartwheel and his horses over it, he scatters it [tossing it up to the wind] without having crushed it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel [and] excellent in wisdom and effectual working.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 28: AMPC
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: