Isaiah 28

1 Woe to the crown of arrogance, to the inebriated of Ephraim, and to the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, to those who were at the top of the very fat valley, staggering from wine.

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 Behold, the Lord is powerful and steadfast, like a storm of hail, like a crushing whirlwind, like the force of many waters, inundating, sent forth over a spacious land.

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 arrogant crown of the inebriated of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot.

The proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot.

4 And the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, who is at the summit of the fat valley, will be like a premature fruit before the ripeness of autumn, which, when the onlooker beholds it, as soon he takes it in his hand, he will devour 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 day, the Lord of hosts will be the crown of glory and the wreath of exultation for the remnant of his people.

In that day Yahweh of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a diadem of beauty for the remainder of his people,

6 And he will be the spirit of judgment for those who sit in judgment, and the strength of those who return from war to the gates.

a spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, and strength for those who turn back their enemies at their gates.

7 Yet truly, these also have been ignorant due to wine, and they have gone astray due to inebriation. The priest and the prophet have been ignorant because of inebriation. They have been absorbed by wine. They have staggered in drunkenness. They have not known the One who sees. They have been ignorant of judgment.

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 all the tables have been filled with vomit and filth, so much so that there was no place left.

Truly, all tables are covered with vomit, so that there is no clean place.

9 To whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he grant an understanding of what is heard? To those who have been weaned from the milk, who have been pulled away from the breasts.

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 So then: command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there.

For it is command upon command, command upon command; rule upon rule, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little.

11 For with the speech of lips and with a different language, he will speak to this people.

Indeed, with mocking lips and a foreign tongue he will speak to this people.

12 He said to them: “This is my rest. Refresh the weary,” and, “This is my refreshment.” And yet they were unwilling to listen.

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 so, the word of the Lord to them will be: “Command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there,” so that they may go forward and fall backward, and so that they may be broken and ensnared and captured.

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 Because of this, listen to the word of the Lord, you mocking men, who lord it over my people who are at Jerusalem.

So listen to the word of Yahweh, you who mock, you who rule over this people who are in Jerusalem.

15 For you have said: “We struck a deal with death, and we formed a pact with Hell. When the inundating scourge passes through, it will not overwhelm us. For we have placed our hope in lies, and we are protected by what is false.” (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 For this reason, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will set a stone within the foundations of Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, which has been established in the foundation: whoever trusts in him need not hurry.

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 I will establish judgment in weights, and justice in measures. And a hailstorm will overturn hope in what is false; and waters will inundate its protection.

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 your deal with death will be abolished, and your pact with Hell will not stand. When the inundating scourge passes through, you will be trampled down by it. (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 Whenever it passes through, it will take you away. For, at first light of morning, it will pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone will make you understand what you hear.

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 For the bed has been narrowed, so much so that one alone would fall out, and the short blanket is not able to cover two.

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 the Lord will stand, just as at the mountain of divisions. He will be angry, just as in the valley which is in Gibeon, so that he may accomplish his work, his strange work, so that he may complete his work, his work which is foreign even to him.

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, do not be willing to mock, lest your chains be tightened. For I have heard, from the Lord, the God of hosts, about the consummation and the abridgement concerning the entire earth.

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 Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence!

Pay attention and listen to my voice; be attentive and listen to my words.

24 Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?

Does a farmer who plows all day to sow, only plow the ground? Does he continually break up and harrow the field?

25 Will he not, when he has made the surface level, sow coriander, and scatter cumin, and plant wheat in rows, and barley, and millet, and vetch in their places?

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 For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him.

His God instructs him; he teaches him wisely.

27 For coriander cannot be threshed with a saw, and a cartwheel cannot revolve over cumin. Instead, coriander is shaken out with a stick, and cumin with a staff.

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 But grain for bread must be crushed. Truly, the thresher cannot thresh it unceasingly, and the cartwheel can neither disrupt it, nor break it with its surface.

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 has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice.

This too comes from Yahweh of hosts, who is wonderful in instruction and excellent in wisdom.