ישעה 28

1 הוי עטרת גאות שכרי אפרים וציץ נבל צבי תפארתו--אשר על ראש גיא שמנים הלומי יין

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.

2 הנה חזק ואמץ לאדני כזרם ברד שער קטב כזרם מים כבירים שטפים הניח לארץ--ביד

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].

3 ברגלים תרמסנה עטרת גאות שכורי אפרים

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.

4 והיתה ציצת נבל צבי תפארתו אשר על ראש גיא שמנים--כבכורה בטרם קיץ אשר יראה הראה אותה בעודה בכפו יבלענה

[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].

5 ביום ההוא יהיה יהוה צבאות לעטרת צבי ולצפירת תפארה--לשאר עמו

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].

6 ולרוח משפט--ליושב על המשפט ולגבורה משיבי מלחמה שערה

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].

7 וגם אלה ביין שגו ובשכר תעו כהן ונביא שגו בשכר נבלעו מן היין תעו מן השכר שגו בראה פקו פליליה

[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.

8 כי כל שלחנות מלאו קיא צאה בלי מקום

All their tables are covered with [their] vomit; filth is everywhere.

9 את מי יורה דעה ואת מי יבין שמועה--גמולי מחלב עתיקי משדים

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?

10 כי צו לצו צו לצו קו לקו קו לקו--זעיר שם זעיר שם

[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.”

11 כי בלעגי שפה ובלשון אחרת ידבר אל העם הזה

So now, Yahweh will need to force them to listen to [Assyrians] speaking to them in a language that they do not understand.

12 אשר אמר אליהם זאת המנוחה הניחו לעיף וזאת המרגעה ולא אבוא שמוע

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.

13 והיה להם דבר יהוה צו לצו צו לצו קו לקו קו לקו זעיר שם זעיר שם--למען ילכו וכשלו אחור ונשברו ונוקשו ונלכדו

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.

14 לכן שמעו דבר יהוה אנשי לצון--משלי העם הזה אשר בירושלם

Because of [what will happen in Samaria], you rulers in Jerusalem who make fun of me, listen to this message from Yahweh:

15 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)

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)

16 לכן כה אמר אדני יהוה הנני יסד בציון אבן אבן בחן פנת יקרת מוסד מוסד--המאמין לא יחיש

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.

17 ושמתי משפט לקו וצדקה למשקלת ויעה ברד מחסה כזב וסתר מים ישטפו

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.

18 וכפר בריתכם את מות וחזותכם את שאול לא תקום שוט שוטף כי יעבר והייתם לו למרמס (Sheol h7585)

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)

19 מדי עברו יקח אתכם כי בבקר בבקר יעבר ביום ובלילה והיה רק זועה הבין שמועה

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.

20 כי קצר המצע מהשתרע והמסכה צרה כהתכנס

[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].

21 כי כהר פרצים יקום יהוה כעמק בגבעון ירגז--לעשות מעשהו זר מעשהו ולעבד עבדתו נכריה עבדתו

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].

22 ועתה אל תתלוצצו פן יחזקו מוסריכם כי כלה ונחרצה שמעתי מאת אדני יהוה צבאות--על כל הארץ

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.

23 האזינו ושמעו קולי הקשיבו ושמעו אמרתי

Listen [IDM] to what I say; pay attention carefully.

24 הכל היום יחרש החרש לזרע יפתח וישדד אדמתו

When a farmer plows some ground, does he never plant seeds [RHQ]? Does he continue to plow it and never plant anything [RHQ]?

25 הלוא אם שוה פניה והפיץ קצח וכמן יזרק ושם חטה שורה ושערה נסמן וכסמת גבלתו

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.

26 ויסרו למשפט אלהיו יורנו

[He does that] because God has taught him the correct way to do it.

27 כי לא בחרוץ יודש קצח ואופן עגלה על כמן יוסב כי במטה יחבט קצח וכמן בשבט

[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.

28 לחם יודק כי לא לנצח אדוש ידושנו והמם גלגל עגלתו ופרשיו לא ידקנו

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.

29 גם זאת מעם יהוה צבאות יצאה הפלא עצה הגדיל תושיה

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].