Isaiah 28
Legacy Standard Bible
Woe to Ephraim
28 Woe to the proud crown of the (A)drunkards of (B)Ephraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [a]fertile valley
Of those who are [b]overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and (C)courageous agent;
As a storm of (D)hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of (E)mighty overflowing waters,
He has set it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is (F)trodden under foot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the [c]fertile valley,
Will be like the (G)first-ripe fig prior to summer,
Which [d]one sees,
And [e]as soon as it is in his [f]hand,
He swallows it.
5 In that day (H)Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful (I)crown
And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;
6 A (J)spirit of just judgment for him who sits in judgment,
A (K)might to those who turn back the [g]onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also (L)reel with wine and stagger from strong drink:
(M)The priest and (N)the prophet reel with strong drink;
They are swallowed up by wine, they stagger from (O)strong drink;
They reel while [h]having (P)visions;
They totter when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy (Q)vomit, without a single clean place.
9 “(R)Whom would He instruct in knowledge,
And whom would He provide understanding about the report?
Those just (S)weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
‘[i](T)Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through (U)stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is (V)rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of Yahweh to them will be,
“[j]Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and (W)stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.
A Cornerstone in Zion
14 Therefore, (X)hear the word of Yahweh, O (Y)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have cut a (Z)covenant with death,
And with Sheol we have made a [k]pact.
(AA)The overflowing [l]scourge will not reach us when it passes by,
For we have made (AB)falsehood our refuge and we have (AC)hidden ourselves with lying.”
16 Therefore thus says Lord Yahweh,
“(AD)Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested (AE)stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, [m]firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be [n]disturbed.
17 I will make (AF)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (AG)hail will sweep away the refuge of falsehood,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (AH)covenant with death will be [o](AI)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (AJ)overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will become its (AK)trampling place.
19 As (AL)often as it passes through, it will take you;
For (AM)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [p]sheer (AN)terror to understand the report.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (AO)blanket is too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21 For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount (AP)Perazim;
He will be stirred up as in the valley of (AQ)Gibeon,
To work His (AR)work, His [q](AS)unusual work,
And to labor in His labor, His [r]exceptional labor.
22 So now do not carry on as (AT)scoffers,
Lest your fetters be made stronger;
For I have heard from Lord Yahweh of hosts
Of complete (AU)destruction, one that is decreed, on all the earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the [s]farmer plow [t]continually to plant seed?
Does he continually [u]turn and harrow his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter (AV)cumin
And [v]plant (AW)wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its [w]area?
26 For his God disciplines and teaches him proper judgment.
27 For dill is not threshed with a (AX)threshing sledge,
Nor is the wheel of a cart [x]driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
But he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually [y]disturb it,
He does not crush it longer.
29 This also comes from Yahweh of hosts,
Who has made His counsel (AY)wonderful and His wisdom (AZ)great.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit valley of fatness
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit smitten
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit valley of fatness
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit the one seeing sees
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit while it is yet
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit palm
- Isaiah 28:6 Lit battle
- Isaiah 28:7 Lit seeing
- Isaiah 28:10 Heb Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Ze’ er sham, ze’ er sham; These Hebrew monosyllables, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preaching
- Isaiah 28:13 See v 10 note 1, Yahweh responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror
- Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; Heb seer
- Isaiah 28:15 Or flood
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
- Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit plowman
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit all day
- Isaiah 28:24 Lit open
- Isaiah 28:25 Lit put
- Isaiah 28:25 Lit region
- Isaiah 28:27 Lit rolled
- Isaiah 28:28 Lit confuse
Isaiah 28
Lexham English Bible
Judgment against the Leaders of Ephraim
28 Ah! The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim
and the withering flower of the glory of his beauty,
which is at the head of the rich valley,[a]
ones overcome[b] with wine!
2 Look! The Lord has a mighty and strong one,
like a rainstorm of hail, a wind storm of destruction,
like a rainstorm of mighty overflowing waters,
he will put them to the earth with his hand.
3 The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trampled[c] by feet,
4 and the withering flower of the glory of its beauty
which is at the head of the rich valley[d]
will be like its early fig before summer,
which the one who sees it swallows[e] while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day, Yahweh of hosts will become a garland of glory
and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits over judgment,
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 And these also stagger because of wine
and stagger because of strong drink;
priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink;
they are confused[f] because of wine.
They stagger because of strong drink;
they err in vision.
They stagger in the rendering of a decision,
8 for all the tables are full of disgusting vomit, with no place left.[g]
9 To 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 blah-blah upon blah-blah,
blah-blah upon blah-blah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,[h]
a little here, a little there.
11 For he will speak with stammering[i] and another tongue to this people, 12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest; give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”; yet[j] they were not willing to hear.
13 And to them the word of Yahweh will be
blah-blah upon blah-blah
blah-blah upon blah-blah
gah-gah upon gah-gah
gah-gah upon gah-gah,[k]
a little here, a little there,
so that they may go and stumble backward
and be broken and ensnared and captured.
The Cornerstone of Zion
14 Therefore hear the word of Yahweh, men of mockery,
rulers of these people in Jerusalem:
15 Because you have said,
“We have made[l] a covenant with death,
and we have made an agreement with Sheol.
The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us,
for we have made lies[m] our refuge,
and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.”
16 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:
“Look! I am laying a stone in Zion,
a tested[n] stone,
a precious cornerstone,
a founded foundation:
‘The one who trusts will not panic.’[o]
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,[p]
and waters will flood over the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
you will become a trampling place for the overwhelming flood when it passes through.
19 As often as it passes through,[q] it will take you,
for morning by morning[r] it will pass through,
in the day and in the night,
and understanding the message will be only terror.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,[s]
and the covering is too narrow when wrapping oneself.
21 For Yahweh will rise up as at Mount Perazim;
he will rave as in the valley at Gibeon
to do his deed—his deed is strange—
and to work his work—his work is alien!
22 And now you must not scoff,
or your bonds will be strong,
for I have heard from the Lord, Yahweh of hosts:
complete destruction
decreed upon all the land.
A Parable of Yahweh’s Work
23 Listen, and hear my voice!
Listen attentively, and hear my word!
24 Is it all day that the plowman plows,
opens to sow seed, harrows his ground?
25 When he has leveled its surface,[t] does he not scatter dill,
and sow cumin seed,
and plant[u] wheat in planted rows,[v]
and barley in an appointed place,
and spelt grain as its border?
26 And his God instructs him about the prescription;[w]
he teaches him.
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a wheel of a utility cart rolled[x] over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain is crushed fine,
but certainly one does not thresh it forever;
and one drives the wheel of his cart,
but his horses do not crush it.
29 This also comes forth from Yahweh of hosts.
He is wonderful in advice;
he makes great wisdom.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 Literally “a valley of fat”
- Isaiah 28:1 Literally “ones struck”
- Isaiah 28:3 The Hebrew is plural
- Isaiah 28:4 Literally “a valley of fat”
- Isaiah 28:4 Literally “Which, when the one who sees it sees it, he swallows it”
- Isaiah 28:7 Or “swallowed”
- Isaiah 28:8 Literally “without a place”
- Isaiah 28:10 In this context, the Hebrew expressions tsaw-tsaw and qaw-qaw are likely meant to sound like baby talk, but they could mean “command upon command” and “rule upon rule”
- Isaiah 28:11 Literally “stammer of lip”
- Isaiah 28:12 Or “and”
- Isaiah 28:13 In this context, the Hebrew expressions tsaw-tsaw and qaw-qaw are likely meant to sound like baby talk, but they could mean “command upon command” and “rule upon rule”
- Isaiah 28:15 Literally “cut”
- Isaiah 28:15 Hebrew “lie”
- Isaiah 28:16 Literally “testing”
- Isaiah 28:16 Literally “hurry”
- Isaiah 28:17 Hebrew “lie”
- Isaiah 28:19 Literally “From enough his passing through”
- Isaiah 28:19 Literally “in the morning in the morning”
- Isaiah 28:20 Literally “from stretching oneself”
- Isaiah 28:25 Literally “face”
- Isaiah 28:25 Literally “place”
- Isaiah 28:25 Hebrew “row”
- Isaiah 28:26 That is, “the proper way”
- Isaiah 28:27 Literally “turned”
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