14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you scoffers(B)
    who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(C)
    with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(D)
    it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(E) our refuge
    and falsehood[a] our hiding place.(F)

16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(G) a tested stone,(H)
    a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(I)
the one who relies on it
    will never be stricken with panic.(J)
17 I will make justice(K) the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line;(L)
hail(M) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
    and water will overflow(N) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
    your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(O)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(P)
    you will be beaten down(Q) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(R)
    morning after morning,(S) by day and by night,
    it will sweep through.”

The understanding of this message
    will bring sheer terror.(T)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
    the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(U)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(V)
    he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(W)
to do his work,(X) his strange work,
    and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(Y)
    or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
    of the destruction decreed(Z) against the whole land.(AA)

23 Listen(AB) and hear my voice;
    pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(AC) does he plow continually?
    Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
    does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(AD)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[b]
    barley(AE) in its plot,[c]
    and spelt(AF) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
    and teaches(AG) him the right way.

27 Caraway is not threshed(AH) with a sledge,(AI)
    nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(AJ)
    and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
    so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(AK) may be rolled over it,
    but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
    whose plan is wonderful,(AL)
    whose wisdom is magnificent.(AM)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
  2. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

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