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.

Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are smitten down with wine!

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.

Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, as a storm of mighty waters overflowing, that casteth down to the earth with violence.

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

The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden 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 fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer, which when one looketh upon it, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

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 shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue 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 for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate.

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.

But these also reel through wine, and stagger through strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel through strong drink, they are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink; they reel in vision, they totter in judgment.

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

For all tables are full of filthy vomit, and no place is clean.

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.

Whom shall one teach knowledge? And whom shall one make to understand the message? Them that are weaned from the milk, them that are drawn from the breasts?

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

For it is precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little.

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

For with stammering lips and with a strange tongue shall it be spoken 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 it was said: 'This is the rest, give ye rest to the weary; and this is the refreshing'; yet they would not hear.

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.

And so the word of the LORD is unto them precept by precept, precept by precept, line by line, line by line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

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

Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scoffers, the ballad-mongers of this people which is 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 ye have said: 'We have made a covenant with death, and with the nether-world are we at agreement; when the scouring scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood have we hid ourselves'; (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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a costly corner-stone of sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.

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 justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place.

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 your covenant with death shall be disannulled and your agreement with the nether-world shall not stand; when the scouring scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it, (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.

As often as it passeth through, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night; and it shall be sheer terror to understand the message.

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

For the bed is too short for a man to stretch himself; and the covering too narrow when he gathereth himself up.

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 rise up as in mount Perazim, He will be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon; that He may do His work, strange is His work, and bring to pass His act, strange 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.

Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bands be made strong; for an extermination wholly determined have I heard from the Lord, the GOD of hosts, upon the whole land.

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

Give ye ear, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my speech.

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

Is the plowman never done with plowing to sow, with the opening and harrowing of his ground?

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 he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the black cummin, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in the border thereof?

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

For He doth instruct him aright; his God doth teach him.

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 black cummin is not threshed with a threshing-sledge, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the black cummin is beaten out with a staff, and 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 bread corn crushed? Nay, he will not ever be threshing it; and though the roller of his wagon and its sharp edges move noisily, he doth not crush it.

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

This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts: Wonderful is His counsel, and great His wisdom.