Isaiah 28

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower the glory of his joy, who were on the head of the fat valley, staggering with wine.

Ho! crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim, and the dead flower of his glory which is on the head of those who are overcome by strong drink!

2 Behold the Lord is mighty and strong, as a storm of hail: a destroying whirlwind, as the violence of many waters overflowing, and sent forth upon a spacious land.

See, the Lord has a strong and cruel one; like a rain of ice, a storm of destruction, like the overflowing of a strong river, he will violently overcome them.

3 The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under feet.

The crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim will be crushed under foot;

4 And the fading flower the glory of his joy, who is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as a hasty fruit before the ripeness of autumn: which when he that seeth it shall behold, as soon as he taketh it in his hand, he will eat it up.

And the dead flower of his glory, which is on the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first early fruit before the summer; which a man takes and puts in his mouth the minute he sees it.

5 In that day the Lord of hosts shall be a crown of glory, and a garland of joy to the residue of his people:

In that day will the Lord of armies be a crown of glory, and a fair ornament, to the rest of his people;

6 And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that return out of the battle to the gate.

And a spirit of wisdom to the judge, and strength to those who keep back the attackers at the door of the town.

7 But these also have been ignorant through wine, and through drunkenness have erred: the priest and the prophet have been ignorant through drunkenness, they are swallowed up with wine, they have gone astray in drunkenness, they have not known him that seeth, they have been ignorant of judgment.

And further, these are uncertain through wine, and have gone out of the right way through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are uncertain through strong drink, they are overcome by wine, they have gone out of the way through strong drink; their vision is false, they go wrong in their decisions.

8 For all tables were full of vomit and filth, so that there was no more place.

For all the tables are covered with coughed-up food, so that there is not a clean place.

9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand the hearing? them that are weaned from the milk, that are drawn away from the breasts.

To whom will he give knowledge? and to whom will he make clear the word? Will it be to those who have newly given up milk, and who have only now been taken from the breast?

10 For command, command again; command, command again; expect, expect again; expect, expect again: a little there, a little there.

For it is one rule after another; one line after another; here a little, there a little.

11 For with the speech of lips, and with another tongue he will speak to this people.

No, but with broken talk, and with a strange tongue, he will give his word to this people:

12 To whom he said: This is my rest, refresh the weary, and this is my refreshing: and they would not hear.

To whom he said, This is the rest, give rest to him who is tired; and by this you may get new strength; but they would not give ear.

13 And the word of the Lord shall be to them: Command, command again; command, command again: expect, expect again; expect, expect again: a little there, a little there: that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

For this cause the word of the Lord will be to them rule after rule, line after line, here a little, there a little; so that they may go on their way, and falling back may be broken, and taken in the net.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, who rule over my people that is in Jerusalem.

Give ear then to the word of the Lord, you men of pride, the rulers of this people in Jerusalem:

15 For you have said: We have entered into a league with death, and we have made a covenant with hell. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come upon us: for we have placed our hope in lies, and by falsehood we are protected. (Sheol h7585)

Because you have said, We have made death our friend, and with the underworld we have made an agreement; when the overflowing waters come through they will not come near us; for we are looking to false words for help, taking cover in what is untrue: (Sheol h7585)

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundation. He that believeth, let him not hasten.

For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.

17 And I will set judgment in weight, and justice in measure: and hail shall overturn the hope of falsehood: and waters shall overflow its protection.

And I will make right decision the measuring-line, and righteousness the weight: and the ice-storm will take away the safe place of false words, and the secret place will be covered by the flowing waters.

18 And Sour league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant with hell shall not stand: when the overflowing scourge shall pass, you shall be trodden down by it. (Sheol h7585)

And the help you were looking for from death will come to nothing, and your agreement with the underworld will be broken; when the overflowing waters come through, then you will be overcome by them. (Sheol h7585)

19 Whensoever it shall pass through, it shall take you away: because in the morning early it shall pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear.

Whenever they come through they will overtake you; for they will come through morning after morning, by day and by night: and the news will be nothing but fear.

20 For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and a short covering cannot cover both.

For the bed is not long enough for a man to be stretched out on: and the cover is not wide enough for him to be covered with.

21 For the Lord shall stand up as in the mountain of divisions: he shall be angry as in the valley which is in Gabaon: that he may do his work, his strange work: that he may perform his work, his work is strange to him.

For the Lord will come up as on Mount Perazim, he will be moved to wrath as in the valley of Gibeon; so that he may do his work — strange is his work; and give effect to his act — unnatural is his act.

22 And now do not mock, lest your bonds be tied strait. For I have heard of the Lord the God of hosts a consumption and a cutting short upon all the earth.

And now, take care that you do not make sport of him, or your bands will be made strong; for I have had word from the Lord, the Lord of armies, of an end, of a complete end, which is to come on all the land.

23 Give ear, and hear my voice, hearken, and hear my speech.

Let your ears be open to my voice; give attention to what I say.

24 Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and harrow his ground?

Is the ploughman for ever ploughing? does he not get the earth ready and broken up for the seed?

25 Will he not, when he hath made plain the surface thereof, sow gith, and scatter cummin, and put wheat in order, and barley, and millet, and vetches in their bounds?

When the face of the earth has been levelled, does he not put in the different sorts of seed, and the grain in lines, and the barley in its place, and the spelt at the edge?

26 For he will instruct him in judgment: his God will teach him.

For his God is his teacher, giving him the knowledge of these things.

27 For gith shall not be thrashed with saws, neither shall the cart wheel turn about upon cummin: but gith shall be beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a staff.

For the fitches are not crushed with a sharp instrument, and a cart-wheel is not rolled over the cummin; but the grain of the fitches is hammered out with a stick, and of the cummin with a rod.

28 But bread corn shall be broken small: but the thrasher shall not thrash it for ever, neither shall the cart wheel hurt it, nor break it with its teeth.

Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.

29 This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his counsel wonderful, and magnify justice.

This comes from the Lord of armies, purposing wonders, and wise in all his acts.