Isaiah 28:14-22

Common English Bible

¹⁴ Therefore, hear the Lord’s word,
    you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death;^[a]
    with the underworld^[b] we made a pact.
When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us;
    for we have made lies our hiding place,
    and in falsehood we take shelter.”
¹⁶ Therefore, the Lord God says:
Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone,
    a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone,
    a sure foundation:
    the one who trusts won’t tremble.
¹⁷ I will make justice the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line.
But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies,
    and water will overflow the shelter.
¹⁸ Your deal with death^[c] will be dissolved,
    and your pact with the grave^[d] won’t stand.
The rushing flood: when it passes through,
    you will be annihilated by it.
¹⁹ Every time it passes through it will take you,
    for morning by morning it will pass,
    by day and by night.
    It will be nothing but terror to understand the message.
²⁰ The bed is too short to stretch out,
    and the shroud is too narrow to cover oneself.