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.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:15 I.e., the netherworld
  2. Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seer
  3. Isaiah 28:15 Or overwhelming scourge
  4. Isaiah 28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
  6. Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
  7. Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
  8. Isaiah 28:18 Or overwhelming scourge
  9. Isaiah 28:19 Lit take
  10. Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
  11. Isaiah 28:19 Lit the report; or the message
  12. Isaiah 28:20 Lit narrow
  13. Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
  14. Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
  15. Isaiah 28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

God’s Precious Cornerstone

14 “Therefore hear[a] the message from the Lord, you scoffers
    who rule this people that are in Jerusalem.
15 Because you said:
    ‘We have entered into a covenant with death,
        and we have an agreement with Sheol,[b]
    so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice,[c]
        it cannot reach us,
    since we have made lies our refuge
        and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood,’
16 therefore this is what the Lord God[d] says:
    “Look! I am laying[e] a foundation stone in Zion, a tested stone,
        a precious cornerstone for a sure[f] foundation:
    Whoever believes firmly will not act hastily.
17 And I will make justice the measuring line,
    and righteousness the plumb line;
hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,
    and floods[g] will overflow your hiding place.

18 “Then your covenant with death will be annulled,
    and your agreement with Sheol[h] will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
    you will be trampled by it.
19 As often as it sweeps through,
    it will carry you away,
for it will sweep by morning after morning in the day;
    but understanding this message will bring sheer terror at night,[i]
20 because the bed is too short to stretch out on,
    and its blankets too narrow to wrap around oneself!

God is on Mount Perazim

21 For the Lord will stand upon[j] Mount Perazim,[k]
    he will rouse himself in[l] the Valley of Gibeon;
to carry out his work—
    his strange deed,
and to perform his task—
    his alien task!
22 But as for you,[m] don’t start mocking,
    or your chains will become tighter;
for I have heard from the Lord[n] of the Heavenly Armies about destruction,
    and it is decreed against the whole land.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsac MT LXX read hear (pl.)
  2. Isaiah 28:15 I.e. the place where the dead dwell in the afterlife
  3. Isaiah 28:15 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read sweeps by
  4. Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa corrector
  5. Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab; MT reads I have laid
  6. Isaiah 28:16 So 1QIsaa MT; MTmss LXX lack sure
  7. Isaiah 28:17 Lit. waters
  8. Isaiah 28:18 I.e. the place where the dead dwell in the afterlife
  9. Isaiah 28:19 So 1QIsaa; MT reads by day and by night; and there will be sheer terror.
  10. Isaiah 28:21 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads as
  11. Isaiah 28:21 I.e. a mountain near Jerusalem, perhaps the Mount of Olives; cf. 2Sam 6:8
  12. Isaiah 28:21 So 1QIsaa; MT reads as
  13. Isaiah 28:22 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads So now
  14. Isaiah 28:22 So 1QIsaa MTmss LXX Syr; MT reads the Lord God