Isaiah 28
Contemporary English Version
Samaria Will Be Punished
28 The city of Samaria
above a fertile valley
is in for trouble!
Its leaders are drunkards,
who stuff themselves
with food and wine.
But they will be like flowers
that dry up and wilt.
2 Only the Lord is strong
and powerful!
His mighty hand
will strike them down
with the force of a hailstorm
or a mighty whirlwind
or an overwhelming flood.
3 Every drunkard in Ephraim[a]
takes pride in Samaria,
but it will be crushed.
4 Samaria above a fertile valley
will quickly lose its glory.
It will be gobbled up
like the first ripe fig
at harvest season.
5 When this time comes,
the Lord All-Powerful
will be a glorious crown
for his people who survive.
6 He will see that justice rules
and that his people are able
to defend their cities.
Corrupt Leaders Will Be Punished
7 Priests and prophets stumble
because they are drunk.
Their minds are too confused
to receive God's messages
or give honest decisions.
8 Their tables are covered,
completely covered,
with their stinking vomit.
9 You drunken leaders
are like babies!
How can you possibly understand
or teach the Lord's message?
10 You don't even listen—
all you hear is senseless sound
after senseless sound.[b]
11 (A) So, the Lord will speak
to his people
in strange sounds
and foreign languages.[c]
12 He promised you
perfect peace and rest,
but you refused to listen.
13 Now his message to you
will be senseless sound
after senseless sound.[d]
Then you will fall backwards,
injured and trapped.
False Security Is Fatal
14 You rulers of Jerusalem
do nothing but sneer;
now you must listen
to what the Lord says.
15 (B) Do you think you have
an agreement with death
and the world of the dead?
Why do you trust in your lies
to keep you safe from danger
and the mighty flood?
16 (C) And so the Lord says,
“I'm laying a firm foundation
for the city of Zion.
It's a valuable cornerstone
proven to be trustworthy;
no one who trusts it
will ever be disappointed.
17 Justice and fairness
will be the measuring lines
that help me build.”
Hailstones and floods
will destroy and wash away
your shelter of lies.
18 Your agreement with death
and the world of the dead
will be broken.
Then angry, roaring waves
will sweep over you.
19 Morning, noon, and night
an overwhelming flood
will wash you away.
The terrible things that happen
will teach you this lesson:
20 Your bed is too short,
your blanket too skimpy.[e]
21 (D) The Lord will fiercely attack
as he did at Mount Perazim[f]
and in Gibeon Valley.[g]
But this time the Lord
will do something surprising,
not what you expect.
22 So you had better stop sneering
or you will be in worse shape
than ever before.
I heard the Lord All-Powerful
threaten the whole country
with destruction.
All Wisdom Comes from the Lord
23 Pay close attention
to what I am saying.
24 Farmers don't just plow
and break up the ground.
25 When a field is ready,
they scatter the seeds
of dill and cumin;
they plant the seeds
of wheat and barley
in the proper places
and sow other grains
around the edges.
26 They learn this from their God.
27 After dill and cumin
have been harvested,
the stalks are pounded,
not run over with a wagon.
28 Wheat and barley are pounded,
but not beaten to pulp;
they are run over with a wagon,
but not ground to dust.
29 This wonderful knowledge comes
from the Lord All-Powerful,
who has such great wisdom.
Footnotes
- 28.3 Ephraim: The northern kingdom of Israel; Samaria was its capital.
- 28.10 sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 9,10.
- 28.11 in … foreign languages: This probably refers to the language of the Assyrians.
- 28.13 Now … sound: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 28.20 Your bed … skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
- 28.21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
- 28.21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).
Isaiah 28
New King James Version
Woe to Ephraim and Jerusalem
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim,
Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [a]verdant valleys,
To those who are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one,
(A)Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm,
Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing,
Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand.
3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim,
Will be trampled underfoot;
4 And the glorious beauty is a fading flower
Which is at the head of the [b]verdant valley,
Like the first fruit before the summer,
Which an observer sees;
He eats it up while it is still in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be
For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty
To the remnant of His people,
6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 But they also (B)have erred through wine,
And through intoxicating drink are out of the way;
(C)The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink,
They are swallowed up by wine,
They are out of the way through intoxicating drink;
They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth;
No place is clean.
9 “Whom(D) will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 (E)For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with (F)stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the (G)rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little,”
That they might go and fall backward, and be broken
And snared and caught.
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
(H)For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
A Cornerstone in Zion
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion (I)a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
19 As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20 For the bed is too short to stretch out on,
And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (J)Perazim,
He will be angry as in the Valley of (K)Gibeon—
That He may do His work, (L)His awesome work,
And bring to pass His act, His [c]unusual act.
22 Now therefore, do not be mockers,
Lest your bonds be made strong;
For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts,
(M)A [d]destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
Listen to the Teaching of God
23 Give ear and hear my voice,
Listen and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
25 When he has leveled its surface,
Does he not sow the black cummin
And scatter the cummin,
Plant the wheat in rows,
The barley in the appointed place,
And the [e]spelt in its place?
26 For He instructs him in right judgment,
His God teaches him.
27 For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin;
But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick,
And the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread flour must be ground;
Therefore he does not thresh it forever,
Break it with his cartwheel,
Or crush it with his horsemen.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
(N)Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in [f]guidance.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 Lit. valleys of fatness
- Isaiah 28:4 Lit. valley of fatness
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit. foreign
- Isaiah 28:22 Lit. complete end
- Isaiah 28:25 rye
- Isaiah 28:29 sound wisdom
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

