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.
Alas! for the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And for his fading wreath of majestic beauty, —Which is on the head of the fertile valley, of them who are overcome 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.
Lo! My Lord hath one who is, strong and bold, Like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, Like a storm of mighty waters overflowing, Hath he thrust it down to the earth with force:
3 The arrogant crown of the inebriated of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot.
With the feet shall be trodden down, 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.
So shall his fading wreath of majestic beauty, Which is on the head of the fertile valley, become—Like the first-ripe fig before fruit-harvest, Which when he that looketh upon it seeth while it is yet in his hand, he swalloweth it up.
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, will Yahweh of hosts become A crown of beauty, and A diadem of majesty, —Unto the remnant 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.
Even a spirit of justice—to him that presideth over justice, And strength to them who would turn back the battle at the gate.
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 as for these, With wine, do they reel, and With strong drink, do they stagger, —Priest and prophet, reel with strong drink They are swallowed up through wine They stagger through strong drink, They reel in prophetic vision, They totter in pronouncing judgment.
8 For all the tables have been filled with vomit and filth, so much so that there was no place left.
For, all tables, are full of filthy vomit, —There is no place!
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, would he teach knowledge? And, whom, would he cause to understand the message? Them who are weaned from the milk? taken from the breasts?
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, Line upon line, line upon line, —A little here a little there.
11 For with the speech of lips and with a different language, he will speak to this people.
For, with a jabbering lip, and with an alien tongue, must he speak unto 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.
To whom he said—This, is the rest—give ye rest to the weary, and This, is the quietness, —But they were unwilling to 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.
So the word of Yahweh must be to them—Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, A little here, a little there, —That they may go and fall backward and be torn and snared and captured.
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 Yahweh, Ye men who scoff, —Ye rulers 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 ye have said—We have solemnised a covenant with death, And with hades, have we effected a vision, —The overflowing scourge when it sweepeth by, shall not reach unto us, For we have made lying our refuge. And in falsehood, have we hid 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 My Lord, Yahweh, Behold me! founding in Zion a stone, A stone of testing, The costly corner of a well-laid foundation, he that trusteth, shall not make haste!
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.
But I will make—Justice the line, and Righteousness the plummet, —And the hail shall, sweep away, your refuge of lying, And your hiding-place, the waters shall overflow;
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)
So shall be wiped out your covenant with death, And your vision with hades, not stand, —When the overflowing scourge, sweepeth past, then shall ye be thereby 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 sweepeth past, it shall take you away, For morning by morning, shall it pass along. By day and by night, —And it shall be nothing less than a terror to make out the message;
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.
For too short is the couch to stretch oneself out, —And, the coverlet, too narrow, when one draweth up his feet.
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 as in Mount Perazim, will Yahweh, arise, As in the vale of Gibeon, will he be stirred, —To do his work—foreign is his work, And to perform his task—strange is his task.
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 do not show yourselves scoffers, Lest your fetters, be bound fast, —For, of a full end, and that a decreed one, have I heard from My Lord, Yahweh of hosts upon all the land
23 Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence!
Give ear, and hear ye my voice, —Hearken, and hear ye my speech: —
24 Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?
All day long, doth the plowman plow for sowing? Doth he continue laying open and harrowing his soil?
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?
Doth he not when he hath levelled the face thereof, Cast abroad the fennel? And, the cummin, doth he not scatter? And plant wheat in rows, And barley in a lot, And spelt in the border thereof?
26 For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him.
Yea One hath trained him to good judgment, His God, directeth him.
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 not with a sledge, must, black coriander be threshed, Nor must, the wheel of a cart, on cummin, be turned, But with a staff, must fennel be beaten, And cummin 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, must be crushed, —Yet would he not be evermore, threshing, it, So he hasteneth over it the wheel of his cart, with his horsemen, He crusheth it not!
29 And this has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice.
Even this, from Yahweh of hosts, cometh forth, —Who hath bestowed distinction upon counsel, And magnified sound wisdom.
