Isaiah 28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
E. The Lord Alone, Israel’s and Judah’s Salvation
Chapter 28
The Fate of Samaria[a]
1 Ah! majestic garland
of the drunkards of Ephraim,[b]
Fading blooms of his glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
upon those stupefied with wine.(A)
2 See, the Lord has a strong one, a mighty one,[c]
who, like an onslaught of hail, a destructive storm,
Like a flood of water, great and overflowing,
levels to the ground with violence;(B)
3 With feet that will trample
the majestic garland of the drunkards of Ephraim.
4 The fading blooms of his glorious beauty
at the head of the fertile valley
Will be like an early fig before summer:
whoever sees it,
swallows it as soon as it is in hand.(C)
5 On that day the Lord of hosts
will be a glorious crown
And a brilliant diadem
for the remnant of his people,
6 A spirit of judgment
for the one who sits in judgment,
And strength for those
who turn back the battle at the gate.
Against Judah
7 But these also stagger from wine
and stumble from strong drink:
Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink,
overpowered by wine;
They are confused by strong drink,
they stagger in their visions,
they totter when giving judgment.(D)
8 Yes, all the tables
are covered with vomit,
with filth, and no place left clean.
9 [d]“To whom would he impart knowledge?
To whom would he convey the message?
To those just weaned from milk,
those weaned from the breast?
10 For he says,
‘Command on command, command on command,
rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!’”
11 [e]Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language
he will speak to this people,(E)
12 to whom he said:
“This is the resting place,
give rest to the weary;
And this is the place of repose”—
but they refused to hear.(F)
13 So for them the word of the Lord shall be:
“Command on command, command on command,
Rule on rule, rule on rule,
here a little, there a little!”
So that when they walk, they shall stumble backward,
broken, ensnared, and captured.(G)
14 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
who rule[f] this people in Jerusalem:(H)
15 You have declared, “We have made a covenant with death,
with Sheol[g] we have made a pact;
When the raging flood passes through,
it will not reach us;
For we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,”—(I)
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord God:
See, I am laying a stone in Zion,[h]
a stone that has been tested,
A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation;
whoever puts faith in it will not waver.(J)
17 I will make judgment a measuring line,
and justice a level.—[i]
Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters shall flood the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death shall be canceled
and your pact with Sheol shall not stand.
When the raging flood passes through,
you shall be beaten down by it.(K)
19 Whenever it passes, it shall seize you;
morning after morning it shall pass,
by day and by night.
Sheer terror
to impart the message!
20 For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in,
and the cover too narrow to wrap in.
21 For the Lord shall rise up as on Mount Perazim,
bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon,[j]
To carry out his work—strange his work!
to perform his deed—alien his deed!
22 Now, cease scoffing,
lest your bonds be tightened,
For I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord, the God of hosts,
for the whole land.(L)
The Parable of the Farmer
23 [k]Give ear and hear my voice,
pay attention and hear my word:
24 Is the plowman forever plowing in order to sow,
always loosening and harrowing the field?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not scatter caraway and sow cumin,[l]
Put in wheat and barley,
with spelt as its border?
26 His God has taught him this rule,
he has instructed him.
27 For caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor does a cartwheel roll over cumin.
But caraway is beaten out with a staff,
and cumin with a rod.
28 Grain is crushed for bread, but not forever;
though he thresh it thoroughly,
and drive his cartwheel and horses over it,
he does not pulverize it.
29 This too comes from the Lord of hosts;
wonderful is his counsel and great his wisdom.(M)
Footnotes
- 28:1–6 These verses once constituted an independent oracle against the Northern Kingdom, probably originally spoken during the time between its overthrow by Assyria in 732 and its destruction in 722/721. Isaiah has reused them as an introduction to his oracle against Judah (vv. 7–22), because the leaders of Judah were guilty of the same excesses that had once marked Ephraim’s leadership.
- 28:1 Ephraim: the Northern Kingdom. Its capital, Samaria, was built upon a hill, suggestive of a majestic garland adorning a human head. The characterization of the leadership of Ephraim as drunken underscores its inattention to justice and good government (cf. 5:11–13; Am 6:1–6).
- 28:2 A strong one, a mighty one: Assyria (cf. 8:7–8).
- 28:9–10 The words of those who ridicule Isaiah. The Hebrew of v. 10, by its very sound, conveys the idea of mocking imitation of what the prophet says, as though he spoke like a stammering child: “sau lasau, sau lasau, kau lakau, kau lakau, ze’er sham, ze’er sham.” But in v. 13 God repeats these words in deadly earnest, putting them in the mouth of the victorious Assyrian army.
- 28:11 God will answer the mockers and defend Isaiah. Strange language: spoken by the invading army.
- 28:14 Who rule: there is a play on words; the same expression could also mean, “Proverb makers,” that is, scoffers of this people.
- 28:15, 18 A covenant with death, with Sheol: an alliance with foreign powers, such as Egypt and Babylon. Have made lies…a hiding place: this confidence in human aid will prove to be false and deceitful, incapable of averting the dreaded disaster. Raging flood: the Assyrian invasion; cf. 8:7–8.
- 28:16 A stone in Zion: the true and sure foundation of salvation, i.e., the presence of God, who had chosen and founded Zion as his city (Ps 78:68–69; Is 14:32) and had chosen the Davidic dynasty to rule over his people (Ps 78:70–72; Is 9:1–6; 11:1–10). Cornerstone: the assurance of salvation, rejected by the people of Judah in the prophet’s time, is picked up in Ps 118:22 and later applied to Christ; cf. Mt 21:42; Lk 20:17; Acts 4:11; Rom 9:33; 1 Pt 2:7. Chapters 28–31 alternate between threats of the danger of rebelling against Assyria (with implied trust in Egypt) with assurances of the power and protection of the Lord.
- 28:17 Line…level: instruments used in constructing a building, to keep it true. They are used metaphorically here to refer to the qualities that Zion, the city of God, must manifest, judgment and justice, not bloodshed (Mi 3:10), nor deceit and violence, which would result in a bulging unstable wall doomed to destruction (Is 30:12–14). Cf. 1 Cor 3:10–17.
- 28:21 Mount Perazim…Valley of Gibeon: where David defeated the Philistines; cf. 2 Sm 5:20, 25; 1 Chr 14:11, 16. God’s new work will be strange, because instead of fighting for Judah as the Lord did in David’s time, God will now fight against Jerusalem (see 29:1–4).
- 28:23–29 The practical variation of the farmer’s work reflects the way God deals with his people, wisely adapted to circumstances; he does not altogether crush them in their weakness.
- 28:25 Caraway…cumin: herbs used in seasoning food. Spelt: a variety of wheat.
以赛亚书 28
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
警告以法莲
28 以法莲那些醉汉所戴的高傲冠冕，有祸了！
它在肥美谷山顶上的荣美，有祸了！
它必如将残的花朵，
满了喝醉酒的人。
2 看哪！主有一个大能大力的人，
像一阵冰雹、一阵毁灭的暴风，
像涨溢猛流的大水，
他必用手把它摔落地上。
3 以法莲的醉汉所戴的高傲冠冕，必被践踏在脚下。
4 它在肥美谷山顶上如将残的花朵一般的荣美，
必像夏天以前初熟的无花果。
那些看见它的人，都必注意；
一到手里，
就把它吞吃了。
警告耶路撒冷的领袖
5 到那日，
万军之耶和华必作他余民荣耀的冠冕、美丽的华冠，
6 也必作在位上施行审判者公平的心灵，
并作在城门口击退敌人者的力量。
7 就是这地的人，也因酒摇晃不定，
因浓酒东倒西歪；
祭司和先知都因浓酒摇晃不定，
被酒弄至昏乱，因浓酒东倒西歪。
他们见异象的时候，摇晃不定，
他们判断的时候，也颠颠倒倒。
8 因为各席上都满了污秽的呕吐，没有一处是干净的。
9 他们说：
“他要把知识教导谁呢？
要使谁明白他所传的信息呢？
是那些刚断奶，
刚离开母怀的吗？
10 因为他所说的，
只是些重复又重复的话，
和毫无意义的字母，
这里一点，那里一点罢了。”
11 耶和华要借着外族人的嘴唇和外族人的舌头，
对这人民说话。
12 他曾对他们说：“这就是安息之处，你们若使疲乏的人得安息，就必得着这安歇的地方。”
但他们不肯听从。
13 所以耶和华对他们所说的话，
就成了重复又重复的话，
和毫无意义的字母，
这里一点，那里一点，
以致他们虽然往前走，却必仰面跌倒，并且跌伤，陷入网罗被缠住。
锡安的基石
14 因此好讥笑人的人哪！
就是管辖这些在耶路撒冷的人民的，
你们要听耶和华的话。
15 因为你们曾说：“我们与死亡立了约，
与阴间结了盟；
刑罚的鞭子扫过的时候，必不会碰到我们，
因为我们以谎言作遮蔽，以虚假作庇护。”
16 所以主耶和华这样说：
“看哪！我在锡安放置一块石头，
是试验过的石头，
是稳固的基石，宝贵的房角石；
信靠的人，必不着急。
17 我要以公平为准绳，
以公义为线铊；
冰雹必把谎言的遮蔽冲去，
大水必漫过庇护所。”
18 你们与死亡所立的约要废除，
你们与阴间所结的盟必立不住；
刑罚的鞭子扫过的时候，
你们就必被践踏。
19 每次扫过的时候，都把你们抓去；
因为每早晨它必漫过，白天与黑夜也是这样；
人若明白所传的，必受惊恐。
20 床铺太短，人就不能伸直，
被窝太窄，就盖不住全身。
21 耶和华必像在毘拉心山一样兴起，
又像在基遍谷一样发怒，
为要作成他的工，他那奇妙的工，
好成就他的事，就是奇异的事。
22 现在，你们不可再讥笑了，
免得捆绑你们的绳索绑得更紧，
因为我从主万军之耶和华那里听到，
决定要在全地上施行毁灭的事。
农务的比喻
23 你们要侧耳听我的声音，
留心听我的话。
24 农夫怎会不断耕犁来撒种呢？
他怎会常常开垦耕地呢？
25 他犁平了地面，
不就撒种小茴香，播种大茴香，
按行列种小麦，
在指定的地方种大麦，在田边种粗麦吗？
26 因为他的 神教导他，指教他正确的方法。
27 打小茴香是不用尖耙的，
轧大茴香也不用碾轮；
而是用杖打小茴香，用棍打大茴香。
28 做饼的谷粒怎么要碾碎的呢？
从来没有人碾碎它们，
虽然他让车轮和马匹辊过谷粒，
却不会把他们碾碎。
29 这也是出于万军之耶和华，
他的谋略奇妙，他的智慧广大。
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
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
