Isaiah 28
1 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.
Woe to the proud garland crown that is worn by each of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, the garland that is set on the head of the lush Valley of those who are overcome with wine!
2 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.
Behold, the Lord sends one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail and a destructive windstorm, like a driving rain and overflowing waters; and he will throw each garland crown down to the ground.
3 The coroun of pride of the drunken men of Effraym schal be defoulid with feet,
The proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot.
4 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.
The fading flower of his glorious beauty, that is on the head of the rich valley, will be as the first ripe fig before the summer, that, when someone sees it, while it is yet in his hand, he gulps it down.
5 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;
In that day Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a diadem of beauty for the remainder of his people,
6 and a spirit of doom to hym that sittith on the trone, and strengthe to hem that turnen ayen fro batel to the yate.
a spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, and strength for those who turn back their enemies at their gates.
7 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.
But even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, and they are swallowed up by wine. They stagger with strong drink, staggering in vision and reeling in decision.
8 For whi alle bordis weren fillid with spuyng and filthis, so that ther was no more place.
Truly, all tables are covered with vomit, so that there is no clean place.
9 Whom schal he teche kunnyng, and whom schal he make to vndurstonde heryng? Men wenyd fro mylk, men drawun awei fro tetis.
To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? To those who are weaned from milk or to those just taken from the breasts?
10 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.
For it is command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little.
11 For whi in speche of lippe, and in other langage he schal speke to this puple,
Indeed, with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to this people.
12 to which he seide, This is my reste; refreische ye a weri man, and this is my refreischyng; and thei nolden here.
In the past he said to them “This is the rest, give rest to him who is weary; and this is the refreshing,” but they would not listen.
13 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.
So the word of Yahweh will be to them command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little; so that they may go and fall backward, and be broken, ensnared, and captured.
14 For this thing, ye men scorneris, that ben lordis ouer my puple which is in Jerusalem, here the word of the Lord.
So listen to the word of Yahweh, you who mock, you who rule over this people who are in Jerusalem.
15 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)
This will happen because you said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have reached an agreement. So when the overwhelming whip passes through, it will not reach us. For we have made a lie our refuge, and taken shelter in falsehood.” (Sheol h7585)
16 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.
Therefore the Lord Yahweh says, “See, I will lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He who believes will not be ashamed.
17 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,
I will make justice the measuring stick, and righteousness the plumbline. Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.
18 and youre couenaunt with helle schal not stonde; whanne the scourge flowynge schal passe, ye schulen be to it in to defoulyng. (Sheol h7585)
Your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you will be overwhelmed by it. (Sheol h7585)
19 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.
Whenever it passes through, it will overwhelm you, and morning by morning it will pass through and by day and night it will come. When the message is understood, it will cause terror.
20 Forsothe the bed is streit, so that the tother falle doun; and a schort mentil schal not hile euer either.
For the bed is too short for a man to stretch out on, and the blanket too narrow for him to wrap himself in.”
21 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.
Yahweh will rise up as on Mount Perazim; he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon to do his work, his strange work, and perform his strange deed.
22 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.
Now therefore do not mock, or your bonds will be tightened. I have heard from the Lord Yahweh of hosts, a decree of destruction on the earth.
23 Perseyue ye with eeris, and here ye my vois; perseyue ye, and here ye my speche.
Pay attention and listen to my voice; be attentive and listen to my words.
24 Whether he that erith, schal ere al dai, for to sowe, and schal be kerue, and purge his londe?
Does a farmer who plows all day to sow, only plow the ground? Does he continually break up and harrow the field?
25 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?
When he has prepared the ground, does he not scatter caraway seed, sow the cumin, put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the right place, and the spelt at its edges?
26 And his God schal teche hym, in doom he schal teche hym.
His God instructs him; he teaches him wisely.
27 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.
Moreover, the caraway seed is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cumin; but caraway is beaten with a stick, and cumin with a rod.
28 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.
Grain is ground for bread but not too finely, and though the wheels of his cart and his horses scatter it, his horses do not crush it.
29 And this thing yede out of the Lord God of oostis, that he schulde make wondirful councel, and magnefie riytfulnesse.
This too comes from Yahweh of hosts, who is wonderful in instruction and excellent in wisdom.
