Isaiah 28:10

10 For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that[a] ; a little here, a little there.”

Isaiah 28:10 in Other Translations

KJV
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
ESV
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little."
NLT
10 He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!”
MSG
10 'Da, da, da, da, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's a good little girl, that's a good little boy.'"
CSB
10 For [he says]: "Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there."

Isaiah 28:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:10

For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept,
&c.] Signifying, that they must be dealt with as children were, when first instructed in the rudiments of a language, first had one rule given them, and then another, and so one after another till they had gone through the whole: line upon line, line upon line;
who are taught first to write one line, and then another; or to draw one line, and write after that, and then another; or where to begin one line, and, when finished, where to begin another; for the allusion is to writing by line, and not to a line used in building, as Kimchi and Ben Melech think: here a little, [and] there a little;
a small lesson out of one book, and a small lesson out of another; a little one day, and a little on the next, and so on, that their memories may not be overburdened.

Isaiah 28:10 In-Context

8 All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?
10 For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that ; a little here, a little there.”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
12 to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen.

Cross References 1

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Hebrew "/ sav lasav sav lasav" / "kav lakav kav lakav" (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
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