< 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, 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.
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 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.
3 With the feet shall be trodden down, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under 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 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.
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 a crown of glory, and a garland of joy to the residue of his 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.
And a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that return out of the battle to the gate.
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.
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.
8 For, all tables, are full of filthy vomit, —There is no place!
For all tables were full of vomit and filth, so that there was no more place.
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?
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.
10 For it is—Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, —A little here a little there.
For command, command again; command, command again; expect, expect again; expect, expect again: a little there, a little there.
11 For, with a jabbering lip, and with an alien tongue, must he speak unto this people!
For with the speech of lips, and with another tongue he will speak to this people.
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.
To whom he said: This is my rest, refresh the weary, and this is my refreshing: and 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.
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.
14 Wherefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, Ye men who scoff, —Ye rulers of this people that is in Jerusalem.
Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, who rule over my 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 )
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 )
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 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.
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 set judgment in weight, and justice in measure: and hail shall overturn the hope of falsehood: and waters shall overflow its protection.
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 )
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 )
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;
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.
20 For too short is the couch to stretch oneself out, —And, the coverlet, too narrow, when one draweth up his feet.
For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and a short covering cannot cover both.
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.
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.
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
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.
23 Give ear, and hear ye my voice, —Hearken, and hear ye my speech: —
Give ear, and hear my voice, hearken, and hear my speech.
24 All day long, doth the plowman plow for sowing? Doth he continue laying open and harrowing his soil?
Shall the ploughman plough all the day to sow, shall he open and harrow his 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?
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?
26 Yea One hath trained him to good judgment, His God, directeth him.
For he will instruct him in judgment: his God will teach him.
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 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.
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!
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.
29 Even this, from Yahweh of hosts, cometh forth, —Who hath bestowed distinction upon counsel, And magnified sound wisdom.
This also is come forth from the Lord God of hosts, to make his counsel wonderful, and magnify justice.