Isaiah 28

1 Woe to the crown of arrogance, to the inebriated of Ephraim, and to the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, to those who were at the top of the very fat valley, staggering from wine.

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.

2 Behold, the Lord is powerful and steadfast, like a storm of hail, like a crushing whirlwind, like the force of many waters, inundating, sent forth over a spacious land.

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.

3 The arrogant crown of the inebriated of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot.

The crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, shall be beaten down with the hands and with the feet.

4 And the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, who is at the summit of the fat valley, will be like a premature fruit before the ripeness of autumn, which, when the onlooker beholds it, as soon he takes it in his hand, he will devour it.

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.

5 In that day, the Lord of hosts will be the crown of glory and the wreath of exultation for the remnant of his people.

In that day the Lord of hosts shall be the crown of hope, the woven [crown] of glory, to the remnant of the people.

6 And he will be the spirit of judgment for those who sit in judgment, and the strength of those who return from war to the gates.

They shall be left in the spirit of judgement for judgement, and for the strength of them that hinder slaying.

7 Yet truly, these also have been ignorant due to wine, and they have gone astray due to inebriation. The priest and the prophet have been ignorant because of inebriation. They have been absorbed by wine. They have staggered in drunkenness. They have not known the One who sees. They have been ignorant of judgment.

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.

8 For all the tables have been filled with vomit and filth, so much so that there was no place left.

A curse shall devour this counsel, for this [is their] counsel for the sake of covetousness.

9 To whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he grant an understanding of what is heard? To those who have been weaned from the milk, who have been pulled away from the breasts.

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.

10 So then: command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there.

Expect you affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, [and] yet a little,

11 For with the speech of lips and with a different language, he will speak to this people.

by reason of the contemptuous [words] of the lips, by means of another language: for they shall speak to this people, saying to them,

12 He said to them: “This is my rest. Refresh the weary,” and, “This is my refreshment.” And yet they were unwilling to listen.

This is the rest to him that is hungry, and this is the calamity: but they would not hear.

13 And so, the word of the Lord to them will be: “Command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there,” so that they may go forward and fall backward, and so that they may be broken and ensnared and captured.

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.

14 Because of this, listen to the word of the Lord, you mocking men, who lord it over my people who are at Jerusalem.

Therefore hear you the word of the Lord, you afflicted men, and you princes of this people that is in Jerusalem.

15 For you have said: “We struck a deal with death, and we formed a pact with Hell. When the inundating scourge passes through, it will not overwhelm us. For we have placed our hope in lies, and we are protected by what is false.” (Sheol h7585)

Because you 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)

16 For this reason, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will set a stone within the foundations of Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, which has been established in the foundation: whoever trusts in him need not hurry.

Therefore thus says 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.

17 And I will establish judgment in weights, and justice in measures. And a hailstorm will overturn hope in what is false; and waters will inundate its protection.

And I will cause judgement [to be] for hope, and my compassion shall be for [just] measures, and you that trust vainly in falsehood [shall fall]: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,

18 And your deal with death will be abolished, and your pact with Hell will not stand. When the inundating scourge passes through, you will be trampled down by it. (Sheol h7585)

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, you shall be beaten down by it. (Sheol h7585)

19 Whenever it passes through, it will take you away. For, at first light of morning, it will pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone will make you understand what you hear.

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,

20 For the bed has been narrowed, so much so that one alone would fall out, and the short blanket is not able to cover two.

you that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.

21 For the Lord will stand, just as at the mountain of divisions. He will be angry, just as in the valley which is in Gibeon, so that he may accomplish his work, his strange work, so that he may complete his work, his work which is foreign even to him.

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.

22 And now, do not be willing to mock, lest your chains be tightened. For I have heard, from the Lord, the God of hosts, about the consummation and the abridgement concerning the entire earth.

Therefore do not you 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.

23 Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence!

Listen, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words.

24 Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?

Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?

25 Will he not, when he has made the surface level, sow coriander, and scatter cumin, and plant wheat in rows, and barley, and millet, and vetch in their places?

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 your borders?

26 For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him.

So you shall be chastened by the judgement of your God, and shall rejoice.

27 For coriander cannot be threshed with a saw, and a cartwheel cannot revolve over cumin. Instead, coriander is shaken out with a stick, and cumin with a staff.

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;

28 But grain for bread must be crushed. Truly, the thresher cannot thresh it unceasingly, and the cartwheel can neither disrupt it, nor break it with its surface.

for I will not be angry with you for ever, neither shall the voice of my anger crush you.

29 And this has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice.

And these signs came forth from the Lord of hosts. Take counsel, exalt vain comfort.