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.
| הוי עטרת גאות שכרי אפרים וציץ נבל צבי תפארתו--אשר על ראש גיא שמנים הלומי יין |
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].
| הנה חזק ואמץ לאדני כזרם ברד שער קטב כזרם מים כבירים שטפים הניח לארץ--ביד |
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.
| ברגלים תרמסנה עטרת גאות שכורי אפרים |
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].
| והיתה ציצת נבל צבי תפארתו אשר על ראש גיא שמנים--כבכורה בטרם קיץ אשר יראה הראה אותה בעודה בכפו יבלענה |
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].
| ביום ההוא יהיה יהוה צבאות לעטרת צבי ולצפירת תפארה--לשאר עמו |
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].
| ולרוח משפט--ליושב על המשפט ולגבורה משיבי מלחמה שערה |
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.
| וגם אלה ביין שגו ובשכר תעו כהן ונביא שגו בשכר נבלעו מן היין תעו מן השכר שגו בראה פקו פליליה |
8 All their tables are covered with [their] vomit; filth is everywhere.
| כי כל שלחנות מלאו קיא צאה בלי מקום |
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?
| את מי יורה דעה ואת מי יבין שמועה--גמולי מחלב עתיקי משדים |
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.”
| כי צו לצו צו לצו קו לקו קו לקו--זעיר שם זעיר שם |
11 So now, Yahweh will need to force them to listen to [Assyrians] speaking to them in a language that they do not understand.
| כי בלעגי שפה ובלשון אחרת ידבר אל העם הזה |
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.
| אשר אמר אליהם זאת המנוחה הניחו לעיף וזאת המרגעה ולא אבוא שמוע |
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.
| והיה להם דבר יהוה צו לצו צו לצו קו לקו קו לקו זעיר שם זעיר שם--למען ילכו וכשלו אחור ונשברו ונוקשו ונלכדו |
14 Because of [what will happen in Samaria], you rulers in Jerusalem who make fun of me, listen to this message from Yahweh:
| לכן שמעו דבר יהוה אנשי לצון--משלי העם הזה אשר בירושלם |
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)
| כי אמרתם כרתנו ברית את מות ועם שאול עשינו חזה שיט (שוט) שוטף כי עבר (יעבר) לא יבואנו כי שמנו כזב מחסנו ובשקר נסתרנו (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.
| לכן כה אמר אדני יהוה הנני יסד בציון אבן אבן בחן פנת יקרת מוסד מוסד--המאמין לא יחיש |
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.
| ושמתי משפט לקו וצדקה למשקלת ויעה ברד מחסה כזב וסתר מים ישטפו |
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)
| וכפר בריתכם את מות וחזותכם את שאול לא תקום שוט שוטף כי יעבר והייתם לו למרמס (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.
| מדי עברו יקח אתכם כי בבקר בבקר יעבר ביום ובלילה והיה רק זועה הבין שמועה |
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].
| כי קצר המצע מהשתרע והמסכה צרה כהתכנס |
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].
| כי כהר פרצים יקום יהוה כעמק בגבעון ירגז--לעשות מעשהו זר מעשהו ולעבד עבדתו נכריה עבדתו |
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.
| ועתה אל תתלוצצו פן יחזקו מוסריכם כי כלה ונחרצה שמעתי מאת אדני יהוה צבאות--על כל הארץ |
23 Listen [IDM] to what I say; pay attention carefully.
| האזינו ושמעו קולי הקשיבו ושמעו אמרתי |
24 When a farmer plows some ground, does he never plant seeds [RHQ]? Does he continue to plow it and never plant anything [RHQ]?
| הכל היום יחרש החרש לזרע יפתח וישדד אדמתו |
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.
| הלוא אם שוה פניה והפיץ קצח וכמן יזרק ושם חטה שורה ושערה נסמן וכסמת גבלתו |
26 [He does that] because God has taught him the correct way to do it.
| ויסרו למשפט אלהיו יורנו |
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.
| כי לא בחרוץ יודש קצח ואופן עגלה על כמן יוסב כי במטה יחבט קצח וכמן בשבט |
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.
| לחם יודק כי לא לנצח אדוש ידושנו והמם גלגל עגלתו ופרשיו לא ידקנו |
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].
| גם זאת מעם יהוה צבאות יצאה הפלא עצה הגדיל תושיה |
