Isaiah 28:18

18 And your league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant with hell shall not stand: when the overflowing scourge shall pass, you shall be trodden down by it.

Isaiah 28:18 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:18

And your covenant with death shall be disannulled
Or, "be besmeared" ^F24, or daubed over, as the ark was with pitch, ( Genesis 6:14 ) where the same word is used as here; so that it shall not be legible, as any writing that is blotted out by ink, or any other liquor, so that it cannot be read; in like manner this their covenant with death should be so obliterated, that the articles of it could not be made out, and so of no force; thus the Targum renders it,

``shall be made void;''

(See Gill on Isaiah 28:15): and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
or "vision", or "provision" ^F25; which they had made by compact, with the greatest care, caution, and foresight, to secure themselves from destruction, would be found insufficient. The Targum is,

``and our peace, which was with the destroyer, shall not stand;''

(See Gill on Isaiah 28:15): when the overflowing scourge shall pass through:
the land of Judea and the city of Jerusalem; (See Gill on Isaiah 28:15): then shall ye be trodden down by it:
though they flattered themselves it should not come near them, yet it would; and they would not be able to stand before it, but would be thrown down, and trampled upon by it as the mire of the streets; see ( Luke 21:24 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (rpkw) "Heb. oblinetur", Piscator; "quasi pica illita tabulae literaeque foederis incrustentur, inducantur ac dispereant", Gusset. Comment. Ebr. p. 397.
F25 (Mktwzxw) "et visio vestra", Vatablus; "cautio vestra", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Heb. "visio", i.e. "provisio", Piscator.

Isaiah 28:18 In-Context

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will lay a stone in the foundations of Sion, a tried stone, a corner stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundation. He that believeth, let him not hasten.

17 And I will set judgment in weight, and justice in measure: and hail shall overturn the hope of falsehood: and waters shall overflow its protection.

18 And your league with death shall be abolished, and your covenant with hell shall not stand: when the overflowing scourge shall pass, you shall be trodden down by it.

19 Whensoever it shall pass through, it shall take you away: because in the morning early it shall pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear.

20 For the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and a short covering cannot cover both.