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
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
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.