In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

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In that day(A) the Lord Almighty
    will be a glorious(B) crown,(C)
a beautiful wreath
    for the remnant(D) of his people.
He will be a spirit of justice(E)
    to the one who sits in judgment,(F)
a source of strength
    to those who turn back the battle(G) at the gate.

And these also stagger(H) from wine(I)
    and reel(J) from beer:
Priests(K) and prophets(L) stagger from beer
    and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
    they stagger when seeing visions,(M)
    they stumble when rendering decisions.
All the tables are covered with vomit(N)
    and there is not a spot without filth.

“Who is it he is trying to teach?(O)
    To whom is he explaining his message?(P)
To children weaned(Q) from their milk,(R)
    to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that[a];
    a little here, a little there.(S)

11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(T)
    God will speak to this people,(U)
12 to whom he said,
    “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(V)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
    but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
    Do this, do that,
    a rule for this, a rule for that;
    a little here, a little there(W)
so that as they go they will fall backward;
    they will be injured(X) and snared and captured.(Y)

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(Z) you scoffers(AA)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(AB)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(AC)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(AD) our refuge
    and falsehood[b] our hiding place.(AE)

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(AF) a tested stone,(AG)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(AH)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.(AI)
17 I will make justice(AJ) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;(AK)
hail(AL) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow(AM) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(AN)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(AO)
    you will be beaten down(AP) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(AQ)
    morning after morning,(AR) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.(AS)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
  2. Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods

In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

But they also (A)have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
(B)The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.

“Whom(C) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (D)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”

11 For with (E)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (F)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(G)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion (H)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”

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