Isaiah 28

Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem

1 Ah, the proud crown of ^athe drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
2Behold, the Lord has ^bone who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like ^ca storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
3 ^dThe proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
4 ^eand the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like ^fa first-ripe fig before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.
5 ^gIn that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, ▼

▼The Hebrew words for  glory and  hosts sound alike

and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
6and ⁱa spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and ^jstrength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 ^kThese also reel with wine
and ^lstagger with strong drink;
the priest and ^mthe prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by ▼

▼Or confused by

wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
8For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.
9 ^o“To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 ^pFor by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12to whom he has said,
^q“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
13And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
^rthat they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.

A Cornerstone in Zion

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you ^sscoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the ^toverwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made ^ulies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
16therefore thus says the Lord God,
^v“Behold, I am the one who has laid ▼

▼Dead Sea Scroll  I am laying

as a foundation ^xin Zion,
a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17And I will make justice ^ythe line,
and righteousness ^zthe plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
18Then ^aayour covenant with death will be annulled,
and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through,
you will be beaten down by it.
19As often as it passes through it will take you;
^abfor morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be ^acsheer terror to understand the message.
20For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
21For the Lord will rise up ^adas on Mount Perazim;
^aeas in the Valley of ^afGibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed—strange is his deed!
and to work his work—alien is his work!
22Now therefore do not ^agscoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard ^aha decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
24Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
25 ^aiWhen he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer ▼

▼A type of wheat

as the border?
26 ^akFor he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.
27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever; ▼

▼Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever

when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is ^amwonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.