Isaiah 28

Modern

Literal

The Captivity of Ephraim

¹Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s^a drunkards,

to the fading flower of his glorious splendor,

set on the summit above the fertile valley,

the pride of those overcome by wine.

¹Woe, to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, and the withering flower, the beauty of his glory, which is at the head of the valley of fatness, those having been struck down by wine!

²Behold, the Lord has one

who is strong and mighty.

Like a hailstorm or destructive tempest,

like a driving rain or flooding downpour,

he will smash that crown to the ground.

²Behold, a mighty and strong one is unto the Lord, like a storm of hail and a tempest of destruction, like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, He will bring it to the ground with the hand.

³The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards

will be trampled underfoot.

³With his feet, the pride of the crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled.

⁴The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,

set on the summit above the fertile valley,

will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest:

Whoever sees it will take it in his hand and swallow it.

⁴The fading flower, the beauty of his glory that is on the head of the valley of fatness, will be like a ripe fig before summer, which the one seeing it sees, and with it still in his palm, he swallows it.

⁵On that day the LORD of Hosts will be a crown of glory,

a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,

⁵In that day YHWH of Hosts will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of His people,

⁶a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,

and a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

⁶and as a spirit of justice for the one sitting in judgment, and as strength for those turning back the battle at the gate.

⁷These also stagger from wine

and stumble from strong drink:

Priests and prophets reel from strong drink

and are befuddled by wine.

They stumble because of strong drink,

muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.

⁷And also these through wine have erred, and with strong drink have wandered; priest and prophet have erred through strong drink and are swallowed up by the wine, they go astray through strong drink; they err in vision, they have stumbled in judgment.

⁸For all their tables are covered with vomit;

there is not a place without filth.

⁸For all the tables are full of vomit and filth without a place to stand.

⁹Whom is He trying to teach?

To whom is He explaining His message?

To infants just weaned from milk?

To babies removed from the breast?

⁹To whom will He teach knowledge? And to whom will he explain the message? Those weaned from milk? Those removed from the breasts?

¹⁰For they hear:^a

“Order on order, order on order,

line on line, line on line;^b

a little here, a little there.”

¹⁰For, “Order on order, order on order; line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there.”

¹¹Indeed, with mocking lips and foreign tongues,

He will speak to this people^a

¹¹For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue He will speak to this people,

¹²to whom He has said:

“This is the place of rest, let the weary rest;

this is the place of repose.”

But they would not listen.

¹²to whom He said: “This is the resting, may they give rest to the weary, and this is the refreshing,” they were not willing to listen.

¹³Then the word of the LORD to them will become:

“Order on order, order on order,

line on line, line on line;

a little here, a little there,”

so that they will go stumbling backward

and will be injured, ensnared, and captured.

¹³And the word of YHWH will become to them “Order on order, order on order; line on line, line on line; a little here, a little there,” that they might go and stumble backward, and be broken and ensnared and captured.

A Cornerstone in Zion

¹⁴Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers

who rule this people in Jerusalem.

¹⁴Therefore hear the word of YHWH, O men of scorning, rulers of this people who are in Jerusalem.

¹⁵For you said, “We have made a covenant with death;

we have fashioned an agreement with Sheol.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through

it will not touch us,

because we have made lies our refuge

and falsehood^a our hiding place.”

¹⁵For you have said, “We have cut a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made an agreement. The overflowing scourge, when it passes over, it will not come to us, for we have made falsehood our refuge, and in deception we have hidden ourselves.”

¹⁶So this is what the Lord GOD says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

the one who believes will never be shaken.^a

¹⁶Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: “Behold, I lay for a foundation in Zion a stone, a stone tested, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. One believing will not be in haste.

¹⁷I will make justice the measuring line

and righteousness the level.

Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies,

and water will flood your hiding place.

¹⁷And I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plumbline; and the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.

¹⁸Your covenant with death will be dissolved,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be trampled by it.

¹⁸And your covenant with death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; the overwhelming scourge, when it passes over, then you will be trampled by it.

¹⁹As often as it passes through,

it will carry you away;

it will sweep through morning after morning,

by day and by night.”

The understanding of this message

will bring sheer terror.

¹⁹As often as it passes over, it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass over.” And by day and by night, then it will be only a terror to understand the report.

²⁰Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,

and the blanket too small to wrap around you.

²⁰For the bed is too short for stretching out, and the covering too narrow for wrapping oneself.

²¹For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim.

He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon,

to do His work, His strange work,

and to perform His task, His disturbing task.

²¹For as at Mount Perazim, YHWH will rise up; as in the Valley of Gibeon, He will rouse Himself, to do His work—His strange work! And to perform His task—His unusual task!

²²So now, do not mock,

or your shackles will become heavier.

Indeed, I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts

a decree of destruction against the whole land.

²²And now, do not mock, lest your bonds be made strong; for destruction is decreed—I have heard from the Lord YHWH of Hosts—upon the whole land.

Listen and Hear

²³Listen and hear my voice.

Pay attention and hear what I say.

²³Give ear and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my speech.

²⁴Does the plowman plow for planting every day?

Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil?

²⁴Does the one plowing plow all the day to sow? He opens and harrows his ground.

²⁵When he has leveled its surface,

does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?

He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,

and rye within its border.

²⁵Does he not, when he has leveled its face, then scatter caraway and sow cummin and put in a row the wheat in the appointed place and the barley and the spelt at its border?

²⁶For his God instructs

and teaches him properly.

²⁶And He instructs him in judgment, and His God teaches him.

²⁷Surely caraway is not threshed with a sledge,

and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin.

But caraway is beaten out with a stick,

and cumin with a rod.

²⁷For caraway is not threshed with a sledge, and the wheel of a cart is not rolled over the cumin. But with the staff caraway is beaten out, and the cummin with the rod.

²⁸Grain for bread must be ground,

but it is not endlessly threshed.

Though the wheels of the cart roll over it,

the horses do not crush it.

²⁸Bread must be ground, but not forever does the one threshing thresh it; and he runs it over with the wheels of his cart, and his horses do not crush it.

²⁹This also comes from the LORD of Hosts,

who is wonderful in counsel

and excellent in wisdom.

²⁹Also this has gone forth from YHWH of Hosts, wonderful in counsel, great in wisdom.