Isaiah 28
1 Woe [to] the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim. And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory, That [is] on the head of the fat valley of the broken down of wine.
Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, who are on the head of the rich valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2 Behold, a mighty and strong one [is] to the Lord, As a storm of hail—a destructive shower, As an inundation of mighty waters overflowing, He cast down to the earth with the hand.
Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, who as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.
3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden down by feet,
The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the fading flower of the beauty of his glory That [is] on the head of the fat valley, Has been as its first-fruit before summer, That its beholder sees; He swallows it while it [is] yet in his hand.
And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the early fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
5 In that day YHWH of Hosts is For a crown of beauty, and for a circlet of glory, To the remnant of His people.
In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6 And for a spirit of judgment To him who is sitting in the judgment, And for might [to] those turning back the battle to the gate.
And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 And even these have erred through wine, And have wandered through strong drink, Priest and prophet erred through strong drink, They have been swallowed up of the wine, They wandered because of the strong drink, They have erred in seeing, They have stumbled judicially.
But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are overwhelmed with wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables have been full of vomit, Filth—without place!
For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
9 By whom does He teach knowledge? And by whom does He cause to understand the report? The weaned from milk, the removed from breasts,
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,
For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
11 For by scorned lip, and by another tongue, Does He speak to this people.
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
12 To whom He has said, “This [is] the rest, give rest to the weary, And this—the refreshing”: And they have not been willing to hear,
To whom he said, This is the rest which ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 And to whom a word of YHWH has been, Rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there, So that they go and have stumbled backward, And been broken, and snared, and captured.
But the word of the LORD was to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14 Therefore, hear a word of YHWH, you men of scorning, Ruling this people that [is] in Jerusalem.
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people who are in Jerusalem.
15 Because you have said: “We have made a covenant with death, And we have made a provision with Sheol, An overflowing scourge, when it passes over, Does not meet us, Though we have made a lie our refuge, And have been hidden in falsehood.” (Sheol h7585)
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we in agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not reach us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: (Sheol h7585)
16 Therefore, thus said Lord YHWH: “Behold, I am laying a foundation in Zion, A stone—a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a settled foundation, He who is believing does not make haste.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 And I have put judgment for a line, And righteousness for a plummet, And hail sweeps away the refuge of lies, And waters overflow the secret hiding place.
Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death has been annulled, And your provision with Sheol does not stand, An overflowing scourge, when it passes over, Then you have been to it for a treading-place. (Sheol h7585)
And your covenant with death shall be broken, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. (Sheol h7585)
19 From the fullness of its passing over it takes you, For it passes over morning by morning, By day and by night, And it has been only a trembling to consider the report.
From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
20 For the bed has been shorter Than to stretch one’s self out in, And the covering has been narrower Than to wrap one’s self up in.
For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
21 For as YHWH rises [at] Mount Perazim, As He is troubled [at] the valley in Gibeon, To do His work—strange [is] His work, And to do His deed—strange [is] His deed.”
For the LORD shall rise as on mount Perazim, he shall be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.
22 And now, do not show yourselves scorners, Lest your bands are strong, For a consumption, that is determined, I have heard, by the Lord, YHWH of Hosts, [Is] for all the land.
Now therefore be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a destruction, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice, Attend, and hear my saying:
Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Does the plowman plow the whole day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground!
Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 Has he not, if he has made its face level, Then scattered fitches, and sprinkles cumin, And has placed the principal wheat, And the appointed barley, And the rye [in] its own border?
When he hath made even the face of it, doth he not cast abroad the black cummin, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the wheat in rows and the appointed barley and the rye in their place?
26 And his God instructs him for judgment, He directs him.
For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For fitches are not threshed with a sharp-pointed thing, And the wheel of a cart turned around on cumin, For fitches are beaten out with a staff, And cumin with a rod.
For the black cummin are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the black cummin are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
28 Bread-[grain] is beaten small, For he does not severely thresh it forever, Nor has a wheel of his cart crushed [it], Nor do his hooves beat it small.
Bread grain is ground; because he will not always be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor grind it with his horsemen.
29 Even this from YHWH of Hosts has gone out, He has made counsel wonderful, He has made wisdom great!
This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.
