Isaiah 28

Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted

1 Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine!

2 Isaiah 28:2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.

3 Isaiah 28:3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.

4 Isaiah 28:4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.

5 Isaiah 28:5 In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;

6 Isaiah 28:6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

7 Isaiah 28:7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.

8 Isaiah 28:8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

9 Isaiah 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?

10 Isaiah 28:10 “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’”

11 Isaiah 28:11 Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,

12 Isaiah 28:12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.

13 Isaiah 28:13 So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.

Judah Is Warned

14 Isaiah 28:14 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

15 Isaiah 28:15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

17 Isaiah 28:17 “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.

18 Isaiah 28:18 “Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place.

19 Isaiah 28:19 “As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

20 Isaiah 28:20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.

21 Isaiah 28:21 For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work.

22 Isaiah 28:22 And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts Of decisive destruction on all the earth.

23 Isaiah 28:23 Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

24 Isaiah 28:24 Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

25 Isaiah 28:25 Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area?

26 Isaiah 28:26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

27 Isaiah 28:27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.

28 Isaiah 28:28 Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

29 Isaiah 28:29 This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.