Isaiah 28

Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah

1 Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley— to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like figs ripe before harvest— as soon as people see them and take them in hand, they swallow them.
5 In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7 And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions.
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] ; 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.
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[b] our hiding place.”
16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through.” The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21 The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon— to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
23 Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place,[c]barley in its plot,[d]and spelt in its field?
26 His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.

Cross References 76

  • 1. Isaiah 10:5; Isaiah 29:1; Isaiah 30:1; Isaiah 31:1; Isaiah 33:1
  • 2. ver 3; Isaiah 7:2; Isaiah 9:9
  • 3. ver 4
  • 4. S Leviticus 10:9; Isaiah 5:11; Hosea 7:5; Amos 6:6
  • 5. Isaiah 40:10
  • 6. S Joshua 10:11; Isaiah 30:30; Ezekiel 13:11
  • 7. Isaiah 29:6
  • 8. S Isaiah 8:7; S Daniel 9:26
  • 9. S ver 1
  • 10. S Job 40:12; S Isaiah 5:5
  • 11. ver 1
  • 12. S Song of Songs 2:13; Hosea 9:10; Nahum 3:12
  • 13. S Isaiah 10:20; S Isaiah 27:1; Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 30:23
  • 14. S Isaiah 24:16,23
  • 15. Isaiah 62:3; Jeremiah 13:18; Ezekiel 16:12; Ezekiel 21:26; Zechariah 9:16
  • 16. S Isaiah 1:9
  • 17. S 2 Samuel 14:20; Isaiah 11:2-4; Isaiah 32:1,16; Isaiah 33:5
  • 18. Isaiah 4:4; John 5:30
  • 19. Judges 9:44-45; S 2 Chronicles 32:8
  • 20. S Isaiah 3:12
  • 21. S Leviticus 10:9; S Isaiah 22:13; S Ephesians 5:18
  • 22. S Psalms 107:27; Isaiah 56:10-12
  • 23. Isaiah 24:2
  • 24. S Isaiah 9:15
  • 25. S Isaiah 1:1; Isaiah 29:11; Hosea 4:11
  • 26. Jeremiah 48:26
  • 27. ver 26; Psalms 32:8; Isaiah 2:3; Isaiah 30:20; Isaiah 48:17; Isaiah 50:4; Isaiah 54:13; Jeremiah 31:34; Jeremiah 32:33
  • 28. Isaiah 52:7; Isaiah 53:1
  • 29. Psalms 131:2
  • 30. Hebrews 5:12-13; 1 Peter 2:2
  • 31. ver 13
  • 32. S Genesis 11:7; Isaiah 33:19; Jeremiah 5:15
  • 33. Ezekiel 3:5; 1 Corinthians 14:21*
  • 34. S Exodus 14:14; S Joshua 1:13; S Job 11:18; S Isaiah 11:10; Matthew 11:28-29
  • 35. ver 10
  • 36. Matthew 21:44
  • 37. S Isaiah 8:15
  • 38. Isaiah 1:10
  • 39. 2 Chronicles 36:16
  • 40. S Job 5:23; Isaiah 8:19
  • 41. ver 2,18; Isaiah 8:7-8; Isaiah 10:26; Isaiah 29:6; Isaiah 30:28; Daniel 11:22
  • 42. S Isaiah 9:15
  • 43. S Judges 9:35; Isaiah 29:15; Jeremiah 23:24
  • 44. S Isaiah 14:32
  • 45. Psalms 118:22; Isaiah 8:14-15; Da 2:34-35,45; Zechariah 12:3; Matthew 21:42; S Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20
  • 46. Jeremiah 51:26; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 2 Timothy 2:19
  • 47. Isaiah 29:22; Isaiah 45:17; Isaiah 50:7; Isaiah 54:4; Romans 9:33*; Romans 10:11*; 1 Peter 2:6*
  • 48. S Psalms 11:7; S Isaiah 5:16
  • 49. S 2 Kings 21:13
  • 50. S Joshua 10:11
  • 51. S Isaiah 8:7
  • 52. S Isaiah 7:7
  • 53. S ver 15
  • 54. S Isaiah 5:5; Isaiah 63:18; Daniel 8:13
  • 55. 2 Kings 24:2
  • 56. S Psalms 5:3
  • 57. S Job 18:11
  • 58. Isaiah 59:6
  • 59. S Genesis 38:29; S 1 Chronicles 14:11
  • 60. S Joshua 9:3; Joshua 10:10,12; 1 Chronicles 14:16
  • 61. Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 65:7; Luke 19:41-44
  • 62. S 2 Chronicles 36:16; Jeremiah 29:18; Lamentations 2:15; Zephaniah 2:15
  • 63. S Isaiah 10:22
  • 64. S Isaiah 10:23
  • 65. Isaiah 32:9
  • 66. Ecclesiastes 3:2
  • 67. Matthew 23:23
  • 68. S Exodus 9:31
  • 69. Exodus 9:32; Ezekiel 4:9
  • 70. S Psalms 94:10
  • 71. S Isaiah 21:10
  • 72. S Job 41:30
  • 73. Isaiah 10:5
  • 74. S Isaiah 21:10
  • 75. S Isaiah 9:6
  • 76. S Psalms 92:5; Romans 11:33

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Hebrew "/ sav lasav sav lasav" / "kav lakav kav lakav" (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13
  • [b]. Or "false gods"
  • [c]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  • [d]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Isaiah 28 Commentaries

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