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 proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, To the fading flower, his glorious beauty, At the head of the rich valley of a people stupefied with 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 a strong, a mighty one from the Lord Like a storm of hail, like a destructive tempest, Like a flood of mighty, overflowing waters, With violence shall dash it to the ground.

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

It shall be trodden under foot, The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.

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, their glorious beauty, At the head of the rich valley, Shall be as the early fig before the time of harvest, Which whoso seeth plucketh immediately, And swalloweth as soon as it is in his hand.

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 shall Jehovah of hosts Be a glorious crown, and a beautiful diadem to the residue of his 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.

A spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, And of strength to them that drive back the enemy to their gates.

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.

But even these stagger through wine, And reel through strong drink; The priest and the prophet stagger through strong drink; They are overpowered with wine; They stumble through strong drink; They reel in vision, They stagger in judgment.

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

For all their tables are full of filthy vomit, So that there is no place clean.

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.

“Whom,” say they, “will he teach knowledge, And to whom will he impart instruction? To the weaned from the milk? To those just taken 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.

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon command, A little here, and a little there.”

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

Yea, with stammering lips and a strange tongue He shall indeed speak to this people;

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

He that said to them, “This is the way of rest, give rest to the weary; This is the way of safety”; 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.

Then shall the word of Jehovah be indeed to them “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon command, A little here, and a little there,” So that they shall go on, and fall backwards, and be broken, And be snared and caught.

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

Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, Ye scoffers, who rule this people 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)

Since ye say, “We have entered into a covenant with death, And with the under-world have we made an agreement, The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not reach us; For we have made falsehood our refuge, And in deceit we have hidden ourselves.” (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 saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I have laid in Zion as a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation; He that trusteth shall not flee away.

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.

I will make justice a line, And righteousness a plummet, And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood, And the waters shall overwhelm its hiding-place;

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)

And your covenant with death shall be broken, And your agreement with the under-world shall not stand; When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, By it shall ye be beaten down. (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.

As often as it passeth through, it shall bear you away; For every morning shall it pass through, By day and by night; Even to hear the rumor of it shall be terrible.

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.

Yea, the bed is too short for one to stretch himself on it, And the covering too narrow for one to wrap himself in it.

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.

For Jehovah will rise up, as in mount Perazim; He will be moved with anger, as in the valley of Gibeon, To perform his act, his strange act, And to execute his work, his strange work.

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.

Now, therefore, be ye no longer scoffers, Lest your bands become stronger; For destruction and punishment have been revealed to me From Jehovah of hosts concerning the whole land!

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

Give ear, and listen to my voice, Attend, and hearken to my words!

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

Is the ploughman always ploughing in order to sow? Is he always opening and harrowing his field?

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?

When he hath made the face thereof even, Doth he not then scatter the dill, and cast abroad the cumin, And sow the wheat in rows, And the barley in its appointed place, And the spelt in his border?

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

Thus his God rightly instructeth him, And giveth him knowledge.

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.

The dill is not beaten out with the thrashing-sledge, Nor is the wheel of the wain rolled over the cumin; But the dill is beaten out with a staff, And the cumin with a rod.

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.

Bread-corn is beaten out, Yet doth not the husbandman thrash it without limit. He driveth over it the wheels of the wain, And the horses, yet doth he not utterly crush it.

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

This also proceedeth from Jehovah of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel, Excellent in wisdom.