Isa 28 | NASB2020 | STEP | Woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk 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 !

Isaiah 28

Ephraim’s Captivity Predicted

1 Woe to the proud crown of the ^ahabitually drunk of ^bEphraim,
And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the ^{▼▼Lit valley of fatness}fertile valley
Of those who are ^{▼▼Lit stricken}overcome with wine!
2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and ^emighty agent;
As a storm of ^fhail, a tempest of destruction,
Like a storm of ^gmighty overflowing waters,
He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.
3 The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is ^htrampled underfoot.
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
Which is at the head of the ^{▼▼Lit valley of fatness}fertile valley,
Will be like the ^jfirst-ripe fig prior to the summer,
Which ^{▼▼Lit the one seeing sees}one sees,
And ^{▼▼Lit while it is yet}as soon as it is in his ^{▼▼Lit palm}hand,
He swallows it.
5 On that day the ⁿLord of armies will become a beautiful ^ocrown
And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;
6 A ^pspirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
A ^qstrength to those who repel the ^{▼▼Lit battle}onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also ^sreel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink:
^tThe priest and ^uthe prophet reel with intoxicating drink,
They are confused by wine, they stagger from ^vintoxicating drink;
They reel while ^{▼▼Lit seeing}having ^xvisions,
They stagger when rendering a verdict.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy ^yvomit, without a single clean place.

9 “To ^zwhom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just ^aaweaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 “For He says,
‘ ^{▼▼Heb Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Zeer sham, zeer sham. These Hebrew fragments, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet’s preaching.
,} ^acOrder on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through ^adstammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “This is the ^aeplace of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
“ ^{▼▼See note v 10. The Lord responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror.}Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there,”
That they may go and ^agstumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.

Judah Is Warned

14 Therefore, ^ahhear the word of the Lord, you ^aiscoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a ^ajcovenant with death,
And with ^{▼▼I.e., the netherworld}Sheol we have made a ^{▼▼As in some ancient versions; MT seer}pact.
^amThe ^{▼▼Or overwhelming scourge}gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made ^aofalsehood our refuge and we have ^apconcealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Therefore this is what the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God says:

“ ^arBehold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested ^asstone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, ^{▼▼Lit well-laid}firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be ^{▼▼Lit in a hurry}disturbed.
17 “I will make ^avjustice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then ^awhail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 “Your ^axcovenant with death will be ^{▼▼Lit covered over
,} ^azcanceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the ^{▼▼Or overwhelming scourge
,} ^bbgushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its ^bctrampling ground.
19 “As ^bdoften as it passes through, it will ^{▼▼Lit take}seize you;
For ^bfmorning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be ^{▼▼Lit only}sheer ^bhterror to understand ^{▼▼Lit the report; or the message}what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the ^bjblanket is too ^{▼▼Lit narrow}small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount ^blPerazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of ^bmGibeon,
To do His ^bntask, His ^{▼▼Lit task is strange
,} ^bpunusual task,
And to work His work, His ^{▼▼Lit work is foreign}extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as ^brscoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord ^{▼▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God of armies
Of decisive ^btdestruction on all the earth.

23 Listen and hear my voice,
Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the ^{▼▼Lit plowman}farmer plow ^{▼▼Lit all day}continually to plant seed?
Does he continually ^{▼▼Lit open}turn and break up his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface
And sow dill and scatter ^bxcumin
And ^{▼▼Lit put}plant ^bzwheat in rows,
Barley in its place and rye within its ^{▼▼Lit region}area?
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27 For dill is not threshed with a ^cbthreshing sledge,
Nor is the cartwheel ^{▼▼Lit rolled}driven over cumin;
But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
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 ^{▼▼Lit discomfit}damage it,
He does not thresh it longer.
29 This also comes from the Lord of armies,
Who has made His counsel ^cewonderful and His wisdom ^cfgreat.