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Isaiah 28:9-20
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Isaiah 28:9-20
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”[a]
11 Truly, with stammering lip
and with alien tongue
he will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13 Therefore 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;”[b]
in order 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 we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming 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,
See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
“One who trusts will not panic.”
17 And I will make justice the line,
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.
18 Then your 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.
19 As often as it passes through, it will take you;
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:10 Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- Isaiah 28:13 Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
Isaiah 28:9-20
New King James Version
Isaiah 28:9-20
New King James Version
9 “Whom(A) 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 (B)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with (C)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (D)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,
(E)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 (F)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.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
Isaiah 28:9-20
New International Version
Isaiah 28:9-20
New International Version
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?(A)
To whom is he explaining his message?(B)
To children weaned(C) from their milk,(D)
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.(E)”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(F)
God will speak to this people,(G)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(H)
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(I)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(J) and snared and captured.(K)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(L) you scoffers(M)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(N)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(O)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(P) our refuge
and falsehood[b] our hiding place.(Q)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(R) a tested stone,(S)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(T)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(U)
17 I will make justice(V) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(W)
hail(X) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(Y) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(Z)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(AA)
you will be beaten down(AB) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(AC)
morning after morning,(AD) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.