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.
Wo to the coroun of pride, to the drunkun men of Effraym, and to the flour fallynge doun of the glorie of the ful out ioiyng therof, that weren in the cop of the fatteste valei, and erriden of wyn.
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].
Lo! the myyti and strong Lord, as the feersnesse of hail, a whirlwynd brekynge togidere, as the fersnesse of many watris flowynge, and sent out on a large lond.
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 coroun of pride of the drunken men of Effraym schal be defoulid with 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 flour of glorie of the ful out ioiyng of hym, that is on the cop of valei of fat thingis, schal be fallyng doun, as a tymeli thing bifore the ripenesse of heruest; which whanne a man seynge biholdith, anoon as he takith with hond, he schal deuoure it.
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 dai the Lord of oostis schal be a coroun of glorie, and a garlond of ful out ioiyng, to the residue of his puple;
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 a spirit of doom to hym that sittith on the trone, and strengthe to hem that turnen ayen fro batel to the yate.
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.
But also thei knewen not for wyn, and erriden for drunkenesse; the preest and profete knewen not for drunkenesse; thei weren sopun up of wyn, thei erriden in drunkenesse; thei knewen not a profete, thei knewen not doom.
8 All their tables are covered with [their] vomit; filth is everywhere.
For whi alle bordis weren fillid with spuyng and filthis, so that ther was no more 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?
Whom schal he teche kunnyng, and whom schal he make to vndurstonde heryng? Men wenyd fro mylk, men drawun awei fro tetis.
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 whi comaunde thou, comaunde thou ayen; comaunde thou, comaunde thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; a litil there, a litil 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 whi in speche of lippe, and in other langage he schal speke to this puple,
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 which he seide, This is my reste; refreische ye a weri man, and this is my refreischyng; and thei nolden here.
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 the word of the Lord schal be to hem, Sende thou, sende thou ayen; send thou, sende thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; abide thou, abide thou ayen; a litil there, a litil there; that thei go, and falle backward, and be al to-brokun, and be snarid, and be takun.
14 Because of [what will happen in Samaria], you rulers in Jerusalem who make fun of me, listen to this message from Yahweh:
For this thing, ye men scorneris, that ben lordis ouer my puple which is in Jerusalem, here the word of the Lord.
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)
For ye seiden, We han smyte a boond of pees with deth, and we han maad couenaunt with helle; a scourge flowynge whanne it schal passe, schal not come on vs, for we han set a leesyng oure hope, and we ben kyuered with a leesyng. (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.
Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal sende in the foundementis of Sion a corner stoon preciouse, preuyd, foundid in the foundement; he that bileueth, schal not haaste.
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 Y schal sette doom in weiyte, and riytfulnesse in mesure; and hail schal distrie the hope of leesyng, and watris schulen flowe on proteccioun. And youre boond of pees with deth schal be don awei,
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 youre couenaunt with helle schal not stonde; whanne the scourge flowynge schal passe, ye schulen be to it in to defoulyng. (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.
Whanne euer it schal passe, it schal take awei yow; for whi erli in the grey morewtid it schal passe, in dai and niyt; and oonli trauel aloone schal yyue vndurstondyng to heryng.
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].
Forsothe the bed is streit, so that the tother falle doun; and a schort mentil schal not hile euer either.
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 in the hil of departyngis the Lord schal stonde, as in the valei, which is in Gabaon, he schal be wroth, that he do his werk; his werk alien, that he worche his werk; his werk is straunge fro hym.
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 nyle ye scorne, lest perauenture youre boondis be maad streit togidere; for Y herde of the Lord God of oostis, endyng and abreggyng on al erthe.
23 Listen [IDM] to what I say; pay attention carefully.
Perseyue ye with eeris, and here ye my vois; perseyue ye, and here ye my speche.
24 When a farmer plows some ground, does he never plant seeds [RHQ]? Does he continue to plow it and never plant anything [RHQ]?
Whether he that erith, schal ere al dai, for to sowe, and schal be kerue, and purge his londe?
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.
Whether whanne he hath maad euene the face therof, schal he not sowe gith, and sprenge abrood comyn? and he schal not sette wheete bi ordre, and barli, and mylium, and fetchis in his coostis?
26 [He does that] because God has taught him the correct way to do it.
And his God schal teche hym, in doom he schal teche hym.
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.
Forsothe gith schal not be threischid in sawis, and a wheel of a wayn schal not cumpasse on comyn; but gith schal be betun out with a yerd, and comyn with a staf.
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.
Sotheli breed schal be maad lesse, but he that threischith schal not threische it with outen ende, nether schal trauele it with a wheel of a wayn, nether schal make it lesse with hise clees.
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].
And this thing yede out of the Lord God of oostis, that he schulde make wondirful councel, and magnefie riytfulnesse.
