Yeshayah 28:18

18 And your brit (covenant) with mavet shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Yeshayah 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.

Yeshayah 28:18 In-Context

16 Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem, Hineni, I lay in Tziyon for a foundation an even (stone), an even bochan (a tried stone), a pinnat yikrat (precious cornerstone), a sure foundation; the ma’amin (believer) shall not panic.

17 Mishpat also will I make as the measuring line, and tzedakah to be the plumbline; and the barad shall sweep away the refuge of kazav, and the mayim shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your brit (covenant) with mavet shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

19 As often as it goeth forth it shall seize you; for boker by boker shall it pass over, by day and by night; and it shall be a terror just to understand the message.

20 For the matztza (bed, mattress) is shorter than one can stretch himself on it; and the blanket narrower than that he can wrap himself in.