Isaiah 28
English Standard Version
Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem
28 Ah, the proud crown of (A)the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has (B)one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like (C)a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 (D)The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 (E)and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like (F)a first-ripe fig[a] before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 (G)In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory,[b]
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 and (H)a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and (I)strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 (J)These also reel with wine
and (K)stagger with strong drink;
the priest and (L)the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by[c] wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 (M)“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 (N)For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
(O)“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,
(P)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 (Q)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 (R)overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made (S)lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
(T)“Behold, I am the one who has laid[d] as a foundation (U)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 (V)the line,
and righteousness (W)the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18 Then (X)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;
(Y)for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be (Z)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 (AA)as on Mount Perazim;
(AB)as in the Valley of (AC)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 (AD)scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard (AE)a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 (AF)When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer[e] as the border?
26 (AG)For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever;[f]
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is (AH)wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:4 Or fruit
- Isaiah 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike
- Isaiah 28:7 Or confused by
- Isaiah 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying
- Isaiah 28:25 A type of wheat
- Isaiah 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever
Isaiah 28
Christian Standard Bible
Woe to Samaria
28 Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards,(A)
and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor,
which is on the summit above the rich valley.
Woe to those overcome with wine.
2 Look, the Lord has a strong and mighty one(B)—
like a devastating hail storm,
like a storm with strong flooding water.
He will bring it across the land with his hand.
3 The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4 The 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.(C)
Whoever sees it will swallow it
while it is still in his hand.
5 On that day
the Lord of Armies will become a crown of beauty
and a diadem of splendor(D)
to the remnant of his people,
6 a spirit of justice
to the one who sits in judgment,(E)
and strength
to those who repel attacks at the city gate.
7 Even these stagger because of wine
and stumble under the influence of beer:
Priest and prophet stagger because of beer.
They are confused by wine.(F)
They stumble because of beer.
They are muddled in their visions.
They stumble in their judgments.
8 Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit;
there is no place without a stench.
9 Who is he trying to teach?
Who is he trying to instruct?
Infants[a] just weaned from milk?
Babies[b] removed from the breast?
10 “Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.”[c]
11 For he will speak to this people
with stammering speech
and in a foreign language.(G)
12 He had said to them,
“This is the place of rest;
let the weary rest;(H)
this is the place of repose.”
But they would not listen.
13 The 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.(I)
A Deal with Death
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(J) you scoffers(K)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol;
when the overwhelming catastrophe[d] passes through,(L)
it will not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden behind treachery.”
16 Therefore the Lord God said:
“Look, I have laid a stone(M) in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;(N)
the one who believes will be unshakable.[e](O)
17 And I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the mason’s level.”(P)
Hail will sweep away the false refuge,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,
you will be trampled.
19 Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning—
every day and every night.
Only terror(Q) will cause you
to understand the message.[f]
20 Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its cover too small to wrap up in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim.(R)
He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon,(S)
to do his work, his unexpected work,
and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
22 So 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.(T)
God’s Wonderful Advice
23 Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.
24 Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed?
Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
25 When 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.
26 His God teaches him order;
he instructs him.
27 Certainly 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.
28 Bread grain is crushed,
but is not threshed endlessly.
Though the wheel of the farmer’s cart rumbles,
his horses do not crush it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of Armies.
He gives wondrous advice;
he gives great wisdom.(U)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.