Isaiah 28
1 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.
Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, the flower that has fallen from the glory of the top of the fertile mountain, they that are drunken without wine.
2 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:
Behold, the anger of the Lord is strong and severe, as descending hail where there is no shelter, violently descending; as a great body of water sweeping away the soil, he shall make rest for the land.
3 With the feet shall be trodden down, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
The crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, shall be beaten down with the hands and with the feet.
4 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.
And the fading flower of the glorious hope on the top of the high mountain shall be as the early fig; he that sees it, before he takes it into his hand, will desire to swallow it down.
5 In that day, will Yahweh of hosts become A crown of beauty, and A diadem of majesty, —Unto the remnant of his people:
In that day the Lord of hosts shall be the crown of hope, the woven [crown] of glory, to the remnant of the people.
6 Even a spirit of justice—to him that presideth over justice, And strength to them who would turn back the battle at the gate.
They shall be left in the spirit of judgement for judgement, and for the strength of them that hinder slaying.
7 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.
For these have trespassed through wine; they have erred through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are mad through strong drink, they are swallowed up by reason of wine, they have staggered through drunkenness; they have erred: this is [their] vision.
8 For, all tables, are full of filthy vomit, —There is no place!
A curse shall devour this counsel, for this [is their] counsel for the sake of covetousness.
9 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?
To whom have we reported evils? and to whom have we reported a message? [even to those] that are weaned from the milk, who are drawn from the breast.
10 For it is—Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, —A little here a little there.
Expect you affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, [and] yet a little,
11 For, with a jabbering lip, and with an alien tongue, must he speak unto this people!
by reason of the contemptuous [words] of the lips, by means of another language: for they shall speak to this people, saying to them,
12 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.
This is the rest to him that is hungry, and this is the calamity: but they would not hear.
13 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.
Therefore the oracle of God shall be to them affliction on affliction, hope on hope, yet a little, [and] yet a little, that they may go and fall backward; and they shall be crushed and shall be in danger, and shall be taken.
14 Wherefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, Ye men who scoff, —Ye rulers of this people that is in Jerusalem.
Therefore hear you the word of the Lord, you afflicted men, and you princes of this people that is in Jerusalem.
15 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)
Because you have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: (Sheol h7585)
16 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!
Therefore thus says the Lord, [even] the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious [stone], for its foundations; and he that believes [on him] shall by no means be ashamed.
17 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;
And I will cause judgement [to be] for hope, and my compassion shall be for [just] measures, and you that trust vainly in falsehood [shall fall]: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,
18 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)
except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, you shall be beaten down by it. (Sheol h7585)
19 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;
Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear,
20 For too short is the couch to stretch oneself out, —And, the coverlet, too narrow, when one draweth up his feet.
you that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.
21 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.
The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly [men], and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, [even] a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange.
22 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
Therefore do not you rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.
23 Give ear, and hear ye my voice, —Hearken, and hear ye my speech: —
Listen, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words.
24 All day long, doth the plowman plow for sowing? Doth he continue laying open and harrowing his soil?
Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?
25 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?
Does he not, when he has levelled the surface thereof, then sow the small black poppy, or cumin, and afterward sow wheat, and barley, and millet, and bread-corn in your borders?
26 Yea One hath trained him to good judgment, His God, directeth him.
So you shall be chastened by the judgement of your God, and shall rejoice.
27 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:
For the black poppy is not cleansed with harsh treatment, nor will a wagon-wheel pass over the cumin; but the black poppy is threshed with a rod, and the cumin shall be eaten with bread;
28 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!
for I will not be angry with you for ever, neither shall the voice of my anger crush you.
29 Even this, from Yahweh of hosts, cometh forth, —Who hath bestowed distinction upon counsel, And magnified sound wisdom.
And these signs came forth from the Lord of hosts. Take counsel, exalt vain comfort.
