Isaiah 28
1 Terrible things will happen to [Samaria city, the capital of Israel]! It is on a hill above a fertile valley; the people who live there, who get drunk by drinking too much wine, are very proud; it is a beautiful and glorious city, but some day that beauty will disappear like [MET] a flower that wilts and dries up.
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 Listen to this: Yahweh will cause a great army to attack Samaria. Their soldiers will be like [SIM] a huge hailstorm [or] a very strong wind; they will be everywhere, like the water of a huge flood, and they will smash to the ground [the buildings in Samaria].
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 The people of Samaria are proud, but everything that the drunks who live there think is wonderful/glorious will be trampled on by their enemies.
The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden down by feet,
4 [Yes], Samaria is beautiful, set on a hill above a fertile valley, but that beauty will disappear like [MET] a flower that wilts and dries up. Whenever someone sees a good fig at the beginning of the season [when figs become ripe], he quickly picks and eats it; [similarly, when the enemies of Israel see all the beautiful things in Samaria], [they will quickly conquer the city and take away all those things].
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 At that time, the Commander of the armies of angels will be [like] a glorious wreath of flowers for [us] Israeli people who are still alive [after being exiled].
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 He will cause our judges to want to do what is fair/just when they decide people’s cases. He will enable the soldiers who stand at the city gates to strongly defend [the city when our enemies attack it].
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 now, ] our leaders stagger/stumble because they have drunk a lot of wine and [other] alcoholic drinks. The priests and prophets also stagger because of drinking a lot of wine and other alcoholic drinks. They are not able to think right; they see visions but they cannot understand what they mean; they are unable to decide things correctly.
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 All their tables are covered with [their] vomit; filth is everywhere.
For all tables have been full of vomit, Filth—without place!
9 They ridicule Yahweh saying, “Who does he think that he is teaching? Why is he talking to us like this? [Does he think that] we are little children who have recently been weaned?
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 [He continually tells us], ‘Do this, do that;’ first he tells us one rule, then another rule, he tells us only one line at a time.”
For rule on rule, rule on rule, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,
11 So now, Yahweh will need to force them to listen to [Assyrians] speaking to them in a language that they do not understand.
For by scorned lip, and by another tongue, Does He speak to this people.
12 Yahweh told his people [long ago], “[This is] a place where you can rest; you are exhausted [from all your travels through the desert], but you will be able to rest [in this land].” But they refused to pay attention to what he said.
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 Yahweh continues to tell the people of Samaria, one line at a time, “Do this, do that,” first one rule and then another rule. But because [of their ignoring what God said], they will be attacked and defeated; they will be wounded 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 Because of [what will happen in Samaria], you rulers in Jerusalem who make fun of me, listen to this message from Yahweh:
Therefore, hear a word of YHWH, you men of scorning, Ruling this people that [is] in Jerusalem.
15 You [boast] saying, “We have made an alliance with [the leaders of Egypt], so we will not be killed [in battles]; we will never go to the place where the dead people are. When the [army of Assyria] attacks us, they will never defeat us, because we have made [an agreement with Egypt] to protect us!” [But that agreement consists of] a lot of lies [DOU]. (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, Yahweh [our] Lord says this: “Listen to this! I am going to place in Jerusalem [someone who is like] [MET] a foundation stone, [he is like] a stone that has been tested [to determine if it is solid]. [He will be like] a valuable cornerstone around which it will be safe to build a house; and whoever trusts in him will never be disappointed.
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 I will test you [people of Jerusalem] to find out if you will act justly and righteously [like] [MET] someone uses a plumb line [to determine if a wall is straight and vertical]. But because your agreement [with Egypt] to protect you [was made by leaders] lying to each other and deceiving each other, you will be defeated and taken away [from your country] by [an army that will come against you like] [MET] a flood.
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 I will annul/destroy the agreement that you made [with the leaders of Egypt]. You thought that [because of that agreement] you would not be killed, and you would not go to the place where the dead are. [But] when the vast [army of Assyria] overwhelms you like a flood, they will trample you into the ground. (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 Their soldiers will come during the morning, at noontime, and at night, and they will carry you all away.” And when you understand this message, you will be terrified.
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 [You have heard people say], “Your bed is very short, you will not be able to sleep in it; your blankets are very narrow; they will not cover you!” [That means for you that your agreement with Egypt is not going to save you].
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 Yahweh will come [and cause you to be defeated]; he will do to you like he did to the army of Philistia at Perizim Mountain and like he did to the Amor people-group at Gibeon Valley. What he will do will be [very] strange and unusual [DOU].
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 The Commander of the armies of angels has told me that he is going to destroy the entire land. So do not ridicule [what I say any more], because if you do that he will punish you [even] more severely.
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 Listen [IDM] to what I say; pay attention carefully.
Give ear, and hear my voice, Attend, and hear my saying:
24 When a farmer plows some ground, does he never plant seeds [RHQ]? Does he continue to plow it and never plant anything [RHQ]?
Does the plowman plow the whole day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground!
25 No, he makes the ground very level, and then he plants seeds— dill and cumin and wheat and barley. He plants each kind of seed in the correct manner.
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 [He does that] because God has taught him the correct way to do it.
And his God instructs him for judgment, He directs him.
27 [Farmers] never thresh caraway/dill with a heavy sledge/club; instead, they beat it only with a stick. [Farmers] never thresh cumin by driving a cart over it; instead, they hit it [only] 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 And grain for baking bread is crushed easily, so the farmers do not continue to pound it for a long time. They sometimes cause their horses to pull a cart over it [to thresh it], [but] doing that does not grind the grain.
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 The Commander of the armies of angels gives [us] wonderful advice [about how to do things]; he causes [us] to be very wise. [So what the farmers do is very smart/wise, but what your leaders are doing is very stupid].
Even this from YHWH of Hosts has gone out, He has made counsel wonderful, He has made wisdom great!
