Isaiah 28:14-22
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A Deal with Death
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you mockers(B)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 For you said, “We have cut a deal with Death,
and we have made an agreement with Sheol;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,(C)
it will not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden behind treachery.”
16 Therefore the Lord God said:
“Look, I have laid a stone(D) in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;(E)
the one who believes will be unshakable.[a](F)
17 And I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the mason’s level.”(G)
Hail will sweep away the false refuge,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18 Your deal with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be trampled.
19 Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning—
every day and every night.
Only terror(H) will cause you
to understand the message.[b]
20 Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its cover too small to wrap up in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as He did at Mount Perazim.(I)
He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon,(J)
to do His work, His strange work,
and to perform His task, His disturbing task.
22 So now, do not mock,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Hosts
a decree of destruction for the whole land.(K)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit will not hurry
- Isaiah 28:19 Or The understanding of the message will cause sheer terror
Isaiah 28:14-22
Common English Bible
The covenant with death overturned
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.
21 Just as on Mount Perazim, the Lord will rise up;
as in the Gibeon Valley he will rage to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
And to work his work—foreign is his work!
22 So now stop your scoffing,
or your chains will be tightened,
because destruction has been ordered—I have heard it!—
by the Lord God of heavenly forces against the whole land.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:15 Heb Maveth
- Isaiah 28:15 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 28:18 Heb Maveth
- Isaiah 28:18 Heb Sheol
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