Isaiah 28
New American Standard Bible
Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted
28 Woe to the proud crown of the (A)habitually drunk 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)mighty agent;
As a storm of (D)hail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of (E)mighty overflowing waters,
He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is (F)trampled underfoot.
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 the summer,
Which [d]one sees,
And [e]as soon as it is in his [f]hand,
He swallows it.
5 On that day the (H)Lord of armies will become a beautiful (I)crown
And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;
6 A (J)spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A (K)strength to those who repel the [g]onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also (L)reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink:
(M)The priest and (N)the prophet reel with intoxicating drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from (O)intoxicating drink;
They reel while [h]having (P)visions,
They stagger when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy (Q)vomit, without a single clean place.
9 “To (R)whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
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, “This is the (V)place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord 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.
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (X)hear the word of the Lord, you (Y)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (Z)covenant with death,
And with [k]Sheol we have made a [l]pact.
(AA)The [m]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (AB)falsehood our refuge and we have (AC)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord [n]God says:
“(AD)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (AE)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [o]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [p]disturbed.
17 I will make (AF)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (AG)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (AH)covenant with death will be [q](AI)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (AJ)[r]gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (AK)trampling ground.
19 As (AL)often as it passes through, it will [s]seize you;
For (AM)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [t]sheer (AN)terror to understand [u]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (AO)blanket is too [v]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (AP)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (AQ)Gibeon,
To do His (AR)task, His [w](AS)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [x]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (AT)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [y]God of armies
Of decisive (AU)destruction on all the earth.
23 Listen and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the [z]farmer plow [aa]continually to plant seed?
Does he continually [ab]turn and break up his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter (AV)cumin
And [ac]plant (AW)wheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its [ad]area?
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27 For dill is not threshed with a (AX)threshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel [ae]driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually [af]damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
29 This also comes from the Lord of armies,
Who has made His counsel (AY)wonderful and His wisdom (AZ)great.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit valley of fatness
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit stricken
- 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, Zeer sham, zeer sham. These Hebrew fragments, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preaching.
- Isaiah 28:13 See note v 10. The Lord responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror.
- Isaiah 28:15 I.e., the netherworld
- Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seer
- Isaiah 28:15 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
- Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
- Isaiah 28:18 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit take
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit the report; or the message
- Isaiah 28:20 Lit narrow
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
- Isaiah 28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- 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 discomfit
Isaiah 28
International Standard Version
The Captivity of Ephraim
28 How terrible it will be for that arrogant garland—
the drunks of Ephraim!
How terrible it will be for that fading flower of his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,[a]
of people overcome with wine!
2 Look! The Lord[b] has one who is mighty and strong,
like a hailstorm and destructive tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing water—
and[c] he will give rest to the land.
3 With hands[d] and feet, that proud garland[e]—
those drunks of Ephraim—will be trampled.
4 And that fading flower, his glorious beauty,
which sits on the heads of people bloated with food,
will be like an early fig before summer—
whenever someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it’s in his hand.
5 At that time,[f] the Lord of the Heavenly Armies will become a glorious crown,
a beautiful diadem for the remnant of his people,
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment,
a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 These people also[g] stagger from wine
and reel from strong drink.
Priests and prophets stagger from strong drink;
they’re drunk from[h] wine;
they reel from strong drink,
waver when seeing visions,
and stumble when rendering decisions.
8 For all the tables are covered in vomit and filth,
with no clean[i] space left.
Misuse of God’s Word
9 To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
To children just weaned from milk?
To those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is: “Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
Line upon line, line upon line,
a little here, a little there.”
11 Very well, then, through the mouths of foreigners[j]
and foreign languages
the Lord will speak to this people
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place,
so give rest to the weary”’
and,
“This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So, then, the message from the Lord to them will become:
“Do this and do that,
do this and do that,
line upon line,
line upon line,
a little here,
a little there,”
so that they will go,
but fall backward,
and be injured, snared, and captured.
God’s Precious Cornerstone
14 “Therefore hear[k] the message from the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.
15 Because you said:
‘We have entered into a covenant with death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol,[l]
so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice,[m]
it cannot reach us,
since we have made lies our refuge
and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood,’
16 therefore this is what the Lord God[n] says:
“Look! I am laying[o] a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure[p] foundation:
Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
and floods[q] will overflow your hiding place.
18 “Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol[r] will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be trampled by it.
19 As often as it sweeps through,
it will carry you away,
for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day;
but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night,[s]
20 because the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its blankets too narrow to wrap around oneself!
God is on Mount Perazim
21 For the Lord will stand upon[t] Mount Perazim,[u]
he will rouse himself in[v] the Valley of Gibeon;
to carry out his work—
his strange deed,
and to perform his task—
his alien task!
22 But as for you,[w] don’t start mocking,
or your chains will become tighter;
for I have heard from the Lord[x] of the Heavenly Armies about destruction,
and it is decreed against the whole land.
The God who Plows and Harvests
23 “Pay attention!
Listen to what I have to say;
Pay attention,
and hear my speech.
24 Does he who plows for sowing plow all the time?
Does he keep on breaking up and harrowing his field?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
he scatters caraway[y] and sows cumin, doesn’t he?
He plants wheat in rows,
barley in its designated place,
and feed for livestock[z] around its borders,[aa] doesn’t he?
26 His God instructs him regarding the correct way,
directing him how to plant.[ab]
27 For caraway is not threshed with a sharp sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin.
Instead, caraway is winnowed with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28 It[ac] must be ground;[ad]
one cannot keep threshing it forever.
Even if he drives his cart[ae] and horses over it,
he cannot crush it.
29 This insight also comes from the Lord of the Heavenly Armies,
who is distinguished[af] in practical advice
and[ag] magnificent in sound wisdom.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit. the valley of those grown fat
- Isaiah 28:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Lord
- Isaiah 28:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
- Isaiah 28:3 So 1QIsaa; cf. LXX; or He will throw them forcefully down to the ground; cf. MT
- Isaiah 28:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; or 3 Underfoot that proud garland; cf. MT
- Isaiah 28:5 Lit. On that day
- Isaiah 28:7 1QIsaa lacks people also; MT lacks people
- Isaiah 28:7 Lit. are devoured by
- Isaiah 28:8 1QIsaa MT lack clean
- Isaiah 28:11 Or through foreign lips
- Isaiah 28:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read hear (pl.)
- Isaiah 28:15 I.e. the place where the dead dwell in the afterlife
- Isaiah 28:15 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read sweeps by
- Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa corrector
- Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads I have laid
- Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXX lack sure
- Isaiah 28:17 Lit. waters
- Isaiah 28:18 I.e. the place where the dead dwell in the afterlife
- Isaiah 28:19 So 1QIsaa; MT reads by day and by night; and there will be sheer terror.
- Isaiah 28:21 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads as
- Isaiah 28:21 I.e. a mountain near Jerusalem, perhaps the Mount of Olives; cf. 2Sam 6:8
- Isaiah 28:21 So 1QIsaa; MT reads as
- Isaiah 28:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads So now
- Isaiah 28:22 So 1QIsaa MTmss LXX Syr; MT reads the Lord God
- Isaiah 28:25 Or scatters black cumin
- Isaiah 28:25 Lit. and spelt; i.e. a grass grown and used as fodder
- Isaiah 28:25 So 1QIsaa; MT reads its border; LXX reads your borders
- Isaiah 28:26 DSS MT lack how to plant
- Isaiah 28:28 I.e. grain; so 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsak reads And it
- Isaiah 28:28 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsak MT read must be ground for bread
- Isaiah 28:28 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsaa corrector MT read the wheel of his cart
- Isaiah 28:29 So 1QIsaa; MT reads wonderful
- Isaiah 28:29 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
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