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 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.
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, 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.
3 With the feet shall be trodden down, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden down by 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 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.
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 YHWH of Hosts is For a crown of beauty, and for a circlet of glory, To the remnant 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 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.
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.
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.
8 For, all tables, are full of filthy vomit, —There is no place!
For all tables have been full of vomit, Filth—without 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?
By whom does He teach knowledge? And by whom does He cause to understand the report? The weaned from milk, the removed from breasts,
10 For it is—Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, —A little here a little there.
For rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,
11 For, with a jabbering lip, and with an alien tongue, must he speak unto this people!
For by scorned lip, and by another tongue, Does He 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 has said, “This [is] the rest, give rest to the weary, And this—the refreshing”: And they have not been willing to 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 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.
14 Wherefore, hear ye the word of Yahweh, Ye men who scoff, —Ye rulers of this people that is in Jerusalem.
Therefore, hear a word of YHWH, you men of scorning, Ruling 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 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)
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 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.
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 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.
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)
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)
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;
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.
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
23 Give ear, and hear ye my voice, —Hearken, and hear ye my speech: —
Give ear, and hear my voice, Attend, and hear my saying:
24 All day long, doth the plowman plow for sowing? Doth he continue laying open and harrowing his soil?
Does the plowman plow the whole day to sow? He opens and harrows 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?
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?
26 Yea One hath trained him to good judgment, His God, directeth him.
And his God instructs him for judgment, He directs 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 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.
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!
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.
29 Even this, from Yahweh of hosts, cometh forth, —Who hath bestowed distinction upon counsel, And magnified sound wisdom.
Even this from YHWH of Hosts has gone out, He has made counsel wonderful, He has made wisdom great!
