Isaiah 28:6-16

6 A 1spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A 2strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
7 And these also 3reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: 4The priest and 5the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from 6strong drink; They reel while having 7visions, They totter when rendering judgment.
8 For all the tables are full of filthy 8vomit, without a single clean place.
9 "To 9whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just 10weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?
10 "For He says, '11Order 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 12stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, "Here is 13rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not listen.
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 14stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.

Judah Is Warned

14 Therefore, 15hear the word of the LORD, O 16scoffers *, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, "We have made a 17covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. 18The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made 19falsehood our refuge and we have 20concealed ourselves with deception."
16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "21Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested 22stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

Isaiah 28:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 28

In this chapter the ten tribes of Israel and the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, are threatened with divine judgments, because of their sins and iniquities mentioned. The ten tribes, under the name of Ephraim, for their pride and drunkenness, Isa 28:1 the means of their destruction, the Assyrian monarch, compared to a hail storm, and a flood of mighty waters, Isa 28:2 which destruction, for their sins, is repeated, and represented as sudden and swift; when they would be like a fading flower and hasty fruit, Isa 28:3,4 and then, as for the two tribes, though they had a glorious prince at the head of them, who had a spirit of wisdom and judgment for government, and of valour and courage for war, Isa 28:5,6 yet the generality of the people, led on by the example of priest and prophet, went into the same sensual gratifications as they of the ten tribes did, Isa 28:7,8 and became sottish and unteachable, and were like children just taken from the breast, and to be used as such, Isa 28:9-11 and though the doctrine proposed to be taught them was such as, if received, would be of the greatest advantage to them, for their comfort and refreshment, yet it was refused by them with the utmost contempt; which was to be their ruin, Isa 28:12,13, wherefore the rulers of Jerusalem are threatened with the judgments of God, which should come upon them night and day, the report of which would be a vexation to them; and from which they should not be screened by their covenant with death and hell, or by their shelters and coverings with lies and falsehood, in which they placed their confidence, Isa 28:14,15 Isa 28:17-22 in the midst of which account, for the comfort of the Lord's people, stands a glorious prophecy, concerning the sure foundation laid in Zion, on which all that are built are safe and happy, Isa 28:16 and the certainty of these judgments is illustrated by the method which the ploughman takes in sowing his corn, and threshing it out; for which he has instruction and direction from the Lord of hosts, Isa 28:23-29.

Cross References 22

  • 1. 1 Kings 3:28; Isaiah 11:2; Isaiah 32:15, 16; John 5:30
  • 2. 2 Chronicles 32:6-8; Isaiah 25:4
  • 3. Isaiah 5:11, 22; Isaiah 22:13; Isaiah 56:12; Hosea 4:11
  • 4. Isaiah 24:2
  • 5. Isaiah 9:15
  • 6. Habakkuk 2:15, 16
  • 7. Isaiah 29:11
  • 8. Jeremiah 48:26
  • 9. Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 28:26; Isaiah 30:20; Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 50:4; Isaiah 54:13
  • 10. Psalms 131:2
  • 11. 2 Chronicles 36:15; Nehemiah 9:30
  • 12. Isaiah 33:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21
  • 13. Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 32:17, 18; Jeremiah 6:16; Matthew 11:28, 29
  • 14. Isaiah 8:15; Matthew 21:44
  • 15. Isaiah 1:10; Isaiah 28:22
  • 16. Isaiah 29:20
  • 17. Isaiah 28:18
  • 18. Isaiah 8:8; Isaiah 28:2; Isaiah 30:28; Daniel 11:22
  • 19. Isaiah 9:15; Isaiah 30:9; Isaiah 44:20; Isaiah 59:3, 4; Ezekiel 13:22
  • 20. Isaiah 29:15
  • 21. Romans 9:33; Romans 10:11; 1 Peter 2:6
  • 22. Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 8:14, 15; Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Lit "battle"
  • [b]. Lit "seeing"
  • [c]. Heb "Sav lasav, sav lasav, Kav lakav, kav lakav, Ze' er sham, ze' er sham" These Hebrew monosyllables, imitating the babbling of a child, mock the prophet's preaching
  • [d]. V 10, note 1 The LORD responds to their scoffing by imitating their mockery, to represent the unintelligible language of a conqueror
  • [e]. I.e. the nether world
  • [f]. So some ancient versions; Heb "seer"
  • [g]. Or "flood"
  • [h]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD
  • [i]. Lit "well-laid"
  • [j]. Lit "in a hurry"
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