Isaiah 28:13

13 So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.

Isaiah 28:13 in Other Translations

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

13 And the word of the LORD will be to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

13 So the LORD will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.

13 So God will start over with the simple basics and address them in baby talk, one syllable at a time - "Da, da, da, da, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's a good little girl, that's a good little boy." And like toddlers, they will get up and fall down, get bruised and confused and lost.

13 Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

13 The LORD speaks utter nonsense to them. That is why they will fall backwards. That is why they will be hurt, trapped, and captured.

13 Then the word of the Lord came to them: "Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there," so they go stumbling backwards, to be broken, trapped, and captured.

13 So then, here is what the LORD's message will become to them. Do this and do that. Do that and do this. Obey this rule and obey that rule. Obey that rule and obey this rule. Learn a little here and learn a little there. So when they try to go forward, they'll fall back and be wounded. They'll be trapped and captured.

Isaiah 28:13 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 28:13

But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon
precept
Was despised and derided by them; they took the prophet's words out of his mouth, and in a scoffing manner repeated them; which, in the Hebrew text, is in a rhyming form, and were sung and drawled out by them, "Tsau lotsau, Tsau lotsau, Kau lakau, Kau lakau": this is all he can say to us, and we have from him: precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line; here a
little, [and] there a little;
or the words may be rendered, "and the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept"; as it had been, so it still was; the same method was continued to be taken with them, and they still treated as children; and it is suggested that they should remain so, and not be men in understanding; and that they should be ever learning like children, and never come to the knowledge of the truth. Moreover, the words may be rendered, "though the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept"; though it was delivered in so plain and easy a manner to them, and such methods of instruction were used gradually and gently, to instil knowledge into them, yet so stupid were they as not to receive it, and so perverse and stubborn as wilfully to reject it; hence they were given up to judicial blindness and hardness, ( Romans 11:8 Romans 11:11 ) : that they might go and fall backward, and be broken, and snared,
and taken:
go on in their own sinful ways, backslide from God, and be broken by his judgments; and be ensnared and taken in the net of the Babylonians, and be carried by them into captivity; see ( Ezekiel 12:13 ) compare with this ( Matthew 21:44 ) ( 1 Peter 2:8 ) or rather fall into the hands of the Romans, and be taken and dispersed by them among the nations.

Isaiah 28:13 In-Context

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.

13 So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.

14 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.

15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

Cross References

• 1. ver 10
• 2. Matthew 21:44
• 3. S Isaiah 8:15