Esias 28
1 Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, the flower that has fallen from the glory of the top of the fertile mountain, they that are drunken without wine.
Woe [to] the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory, That [is] on the head of the fat valley of the broken down of wine.
2 Behold, the anger of the Lord is strong and severe, as descending hail where there is no shelter, violently descending; as a great body of water sweeping away the soil, he shall make rest for the land.
Behold, a mighty and strong one [is] to the Lord, As a storm of hail—a destructive shower, As an inundation of mighty waters overflowing, He cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, shall be beaten down with the hands and with the feet.
The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden down by feet,
4 And the fading flower of the glorious hope on the top of the high mountain shall be as the early fig; he that sees it, before he takes it into his hand, will desire to swallow it down.
And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory That [is] on the head of the fat valley, Has been as its first-fruit before summer, That its beholder sees; He swallows it while it [is] yet in his hand.
5 In that day the Lord of hosts shall be the crown of hope, the woven [crown] of glory, to the remnant of the people.
In that day YHWH of Hosts is For a crown of beauty, and for a circlet of glory, To the remnant of His people.
6 They shall be left in the spirit of judgment for judgment, and for the strength of them that hinder slaying.
And for a spirit of judgment To him who is sitting in the judgment, And for might [to] those turning back the battle to the gate.
7 For these have trespassed through wine; they have erred through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are mad through strong drink, they are swallowed up by reason of wine, they have staggered through drunkenness; they have erred: this is [their] vision.
And even these have erred through wine, And have wandered through strong drink, Priest and prophet erred through strong drink, They have been swallowed up of the wine, They wandered because of the strong drink, They have erred in seeing, They have stumbled judicially.
8 A curse shall devour this counsel, for this [is their] counsel for the sake of covetousness.
For all tables have been full of vomit, Filth—without place!
9 To whom have we reported evils? and to whom have we reported a message? [even to those] that are weaned from the milk, who are drawn from the breast.
By whom does He teach knowledge? And by whom does He cause to understand the report? The weaned from milk, the removed from breasts,
10 Expect thou affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, [and] yet a little,
For rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,
11 by reason of the contemptuous [words] of the lips, by means of another language: for they shall speak to this people, saying to them,
For by scorned lip, and by another tongue, Does He speak to this people.
12 This is the rest to him that is hungry, and this is the calamity: but they would not hear.
To whom He has said, “This [is] the rest, give rest to the weary, And this—the refreshing”: And they have not been willing to hear,
13 Therefore the oracle of God shall be to them affliction on affliction, hope on hope, yet a little, [and] yet a little, that they may go and fall backward; and they shall be crushed and shall be in danger, and shall be taken.
And to whom a word of YHWH has been, Rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there, So that they go and have stumbled backward, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
14 Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, ye afflicted men, and ye princes of this people that is in Jerusalem.
Therefore, hear a word of YHWH, you men of scorning, Ruling this people that [is] in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: (Sheol h7585)
Because you have said: “We have made a covenant with death, And we have made a provision with Sheol, An overflowing scourge, when it passes over, Does not meet us, Though we have made a lie our refuge, And have been hidden in falsehood.” (Sheol h7585)
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord, [even] the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious [stone], for its foundations; and he that believes [on him] shall by no means be ashamed.
Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: “Behold, I am laying a foundation in Zion, A stone—a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a settled foundation, He who is believing does not make haste.
17 And I will cause judgment [to be] for hope, and my compassion shall be for [just] measures, and ye that trust vainly in falsehood [shall fall]: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,
And I have put judgment for a line, And righteousness for a plummet, And hail sweeps away the refuge of lies, And waters overflow the secret hiding place.
18 except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. (Sheol h7585)
And your covenant with death has been annulled, And your provision with Sheol does not stand, An overflowing scourge, when it passes over, Then you have been to it for a treading-place. (Sheol h7585)
19 Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear,
From the fullness of its passing over it takes you, For it passes over morning by morning, By day and by night, And it has been only a trembling to consider the report.
20 ye that are distressed; we cannot fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.
For the bed has been shorter Than to stretch one’s self out in, And the covering has been narrower Than to wrap one’s self up in.
21 The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly [men], and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, [even] a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange.
For as YHWH rises [at] Mount Perazim, As He is troubled [at] the valley in Gibeon, To do His work—strange [is] His work, And to do His deed—strange [is] His deed.”
22 Therefore do not ye rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.
And now, do not show yourselves scorners, Lest your bands are strong, For a consumption, that is determined, I have heard, by the Lord, YHWH of Hosts, [Is] for all the land.
23 Hearken, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words.
Give ear, and hear my voice, Attend, and hear my saying:
24 Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?
Does the plowman plow the whole day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground!
25 Does he not, when he has levelled the surface thereof, then sow the small black poppy, or cumin, and afterward sow wheat, and barley, and millet, and bread-corn in thy borders?
Has he not, if he has made its face level, Then scattered fitches, and sprinkles cumin, And has placed the principal wheat, And the appointed barley, And the rye [in] its own border?
26 So thou shalt be chastened by the judgment of thy God, and shalt rejoice.
And his God instructs him for judgment, He directs him.
27 For the black poppy is not cleansed with harsh treatment, nor will a wagon-wheel pass over the cumin; but the black poppy is threshed with a rod, and the cumin shall be eaten with bread;
For fitches are not threshed with a sharp-pointed thing, And the wheel of a cart turned around on cumin, For fitches are beaten out with a staff, And cumin with a rod.
28 for I will not be wroth with you for ever, neither shall the voice of my anger crush you.
Bread-[grain] is beaten small, For he does not severely thresh it forever, Nor has a wheel of his cart crushed [it], Nor do his hooves beat it small.
29 And these signs came forth from the Lord of hosts. Take counsel, exalt vain comfort.
Even this from YHWH of Hosts has gone out, He has made counsel wonderful, He has made wisdom great!
