Isaiah 28:14-22
New American Standard Bible
Judah Is Warned
14 Therefore, (A)hear the word of the Lord, you (B)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (C)covenant with death,
And with [a]Sheol we have made a [b]pact.
(D)The [c]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (E)falsehood our refuge and we have (F)concealed ourselves with deception.”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord [d]God says:
“(G)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (H)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [e]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [f]disturbed.
17 I will make (I)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (J)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (K)covenant with death will be [g](L)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (M)[h]gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (N)trampling ground.
19 As (O)often as it passes through, it will [i]seize you;
For (P)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [j]sheer (Q)terror to understand [k]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (R)blanket is too [l]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (S)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (T)Gibeon,
To do His (U)task, His [m](V)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [n]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (W)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [o]God of armies
Of decisive (X)destruction on all the earth.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:15 I.e., the netherworld
- Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seer
- Isaiah 28:15 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
- Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
- Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
- Isaiah 28:18 Or overwhelming scourge
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit take
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
- Isaiah 28:19 Lit the report; or the message
- Isaiah 28:20 Lit narrow
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
- Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
- Isaiah 28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
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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