Isaiah 28:1-6
New English Translation
The Lord Will Judge Ephraim
28 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards is doomed,[a]
the withering flower, its beautiful splendor,[b]
situated[c] at the head of a rich valley,
the crown of those overcome with wine.[d]
2 Look, the Lord[e] sends a strong, powerful one.[f]
With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm,[g]
with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm,[h]
he will knock that crown[i] to the ground with his hand.[j]
3 The splendid crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4 The withering flower, its beautiful splendor,
situated at the head of a rich valley,
will be like an early fig before harvest—
as soon as someone notices it,
he grabs it and swallows it.[k]
5 At that time[l] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will become a beautiful crown
and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.
6 He will give discernment to the one who makes judicial decisions,
and strength to those who defend the city from attackers.[m]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:1 tn Heb “Woe [to] the crown [or “wreath”] of the splendor [or “pride”] of the drunkards of Ephraim.” The “crown” is Samaria, the capital city of the northern kingdom (Ephraim). Priests and prophets are included among these drunkards in v. 7.
- Isaiah 28:1 tn Heb “the beauty of his splendor.” In the translation the masculine pronoun (“his”) has been replaced by “its” because the referent (the “crown”) is the city of Samaria.
- Isaiah 28:1 tn Heb “which [is].”
- Isaiah 28:1 tn Heb “ones overcome with wine.” The words “the crown of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The syntactical relationship of the final phrase to what precedes is uncertain. הֲלוּמֵי יָיִן (halume yayin, “ones overcome with wine”) seems to correspond to שִׁכֹּרֵי אֶפְרַיִם (shikkore ʾefrayim, “drunkards of Ephraim”) in line 1. The translation assumes that the phrase “the splendid crown” is to be understood in the final line as well.
- Isaiah 28:2 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (ʾadonay).
- Isaiah 28:2 tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”
- Isaiah 28:2 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”
- Isaiah 28:2 tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”
- Isaiah 28:2 tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.
- Isaiah 28:2 tn Or “by [his] power.”
- Isaiah 28:4 tn Heb “which the one seeing sees, while still it is in his hand he swallows it.”
- Isaiah 28:5 tn Or “in that day” (KJV).
- Isaiah 28:6 tn Heb “and [he will become] a spirit of justice for the one who sits [i.e., presides] over judgment, // and strength [for] the ones who turn back battle at the city gate.” The Lord will provide internal stability and national security.
Isaiah 28:1-6
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.
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
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