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Isaiah 28:9-22
English Standard Version
Isaiah 28:9-22
English Standard Version
9 (A)“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?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 (B)For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
(C)“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13 And 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,
(D)that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you (E)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 (F)overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made (G)lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
(H)“Behold, I am the one who has laid[a] as a foundation (I)in Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17 And I will make justice (J)the line,
and righteousness (K)the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18 Then (L)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;
(M)for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be (N)sheer terror to understand the message.
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up (O)as on Mount Perazim;
(P)as in the Valley of (Q)Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22 Now therefore do not (R)scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard (S)a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying
Isaiah 28:9-22
New International Version
Isaiah 28:9-22
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.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(AE)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(AF)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(AG)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(AH)—
to do his work,(AI) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(AJ)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(AK) against the whole land.(AL)
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
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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.