Isaiah 28:1-13

Judgment against the Leaders of Ephraim

1 Ah! The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim and [the] withering flower of the glory of his beauty, which [is] at [the] head of {the rich valley}, {ones overcome} with wine!

2 Look! The Lord has [a] mighty and strong [one], like a rainstorm of hail, a wind storm of destruction, like a rainstorm of mighty overflowing waters, he will put [them] to the earth with [his] hand.

3 The garland of the pride of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled by feet,

4 and [the] withering flower of the glory of its beauty which [is] at [the] head of {the rich valley} will be like its early fig before summer, {which the one who sees it swallows} while it [is] still in his hand.

5 In that day, Yahweh of hosts will become a garland of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people,

6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits over judgment, and strength [to] those who turn back [the] battle [at the] gate.

7 And these also stagger because of wine and stagger because of strong drink; priest and prophet stagger because of strong drink; they are confused because of wine. They stagger because of strong drink; they err in vision. They stagger [in the] rendering of a decision,

8 for all [the] tables are full [of] disgusting vomit, {with no place left}.

9 [To] whom will he teach knowledge, and [to] whom will he explain [the] message? Those who are weaned from milk, [those] taken from [the] breast?

10 For [it is] blah-blah upon blah-blah, blah-blah upon blah-blah, gah-gah upon gah-gah, gah-gah upon gah-gah, a little here, a little there.

11 For he will speak with {stammering} and another tongue to this people,

12 to whom he has said, "This [is] rest; give rest to the weary; and this [is] repose"; yet they were not willing to hear.

13 And to them the word of Yahweh will be blah-blah upon blah-blah blah-blah upon blah-blah gah-gah upon gah-gah gah-gah upon gah-gah, a little here, a little there, so that they may go and stumble backward and be broken and ensnared and captured.

Isaiah 28:1-13 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "a valley of fat"
• [b]. Literally "ones struck"
• [c]. The Hebrew is plural
• [d]. Literally "a valley of fat"
• [e]. Literally "Which, when the one who sees it sees it, he swallows it"
• [f]. Or "swallowed"
• [g]. Literally "without a place"
• [h]. In this context, the Hebrew expressions tsaw-tsaw and qaw-qaw are likely meant to sound like baby talk, but they could mean "command upon command" and "rule upon rule"
• [i]. Literally "stammer of lip"