Isaiah 28:18

18 your covenant with death will be annulled, and your contract with Sh'ol will not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you will be trampled 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 here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "Look, I am laying in Tziyon a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation-stone; he who trusts will not rush here and there.

17 I will make justice the plumbline and righteousness the plumb-bob; hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, water will overflow the hiding place,

18 your covenant with death will be annulled, and your contract with Sh'ol will not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you will be trampled down by it.

19 As often as it passes through, it will take you, for it will pass through every morning, day after day, night after night; understanding the message will be sheer terror."

20 For, [as the saying goes,] "The bed is too short for a person to stretch, and the blanket too narrow [to protect him from cold] even if he crams himself in."