Isaiah 28:14-22
New Living Translation
14 Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord,
you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
and have made a deal to dodge the grave.[a]
The coming destruction can never touch us,
for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”
16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,[b]
a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
Whoever believes need never be shaken.[c]
17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice
and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
a flood will sweep it away.
18 I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
you will be trampled into the ground.
19 Again and again that flood will come,
morning after morning,
day and night,
until you are carried away.”
This message will bring terror to your people.
20 The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
21 The Lord will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
he will come to do an unusual deed:
22 For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
or your punishment will be even greater.
Footnotes
- 28:15 Hebrew Sheol; also in 28:18.
- 28:16a Hebrew in Zion.
- 28:16b Greek version reads Look! I am placing a stone in the foundation of Jerusalem [literally Zion], / a precious cornerstone for its foundation, chosen for great honor. / Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Compare Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6.
Isaiah 28:14-22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.(A)
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;(B)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“See, I am laying[a] in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’(C)
17 And I will make justice the line
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.(D)
18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.(E)
19 As often as it passes through, it will take you,
for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night,
and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.”(F)
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering is too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
and to work his work—alien is his work!(G)
22 Now therefore do not scoff,
or your bonds will be made stronger,
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.(H)
Footnotes
- 28.16 Q mss Compare Syr Tg: MT he laid
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.