Isaiah 28:9–12
9 tWhom shall he teach knowledge?
And whom shall he make to understand †doctrine?
uThem that are weaned from the milk,
And drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept ||must be upon precept, precept upon precept;
vLine upon line, line upon line;
Here a little, and there a little:
11 For wwith †xstammering lips and another tongue
||Will he speak to this people.
yThis is the rest wherewith ye may cause zthe weary to rest;
Isaiah 28:9–12 — The New International Version (NIV)
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.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — English Standard Version (ESV)
9 “To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — New Living Translation (NLT)
9 “Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask.
“Why does he speak to us like this?
Are we little children,
just recently weaned?
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!”
11 So now God will have to speak to his people
through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
12 God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
But they would not listen.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge?
And whom will he make to understand the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just drawn from the breasts?
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept,
Line upon line, line upon line,
Here a little, there a little.”
11 For with stammering lips and another tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which
You may cause the weary to rest,”
And, “This is the refreshing”;
Yet they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — New Century Version (NCV)
9 The Lord is trying to teach the people a lesson;
he is trying to make them understand his teachings.
But the people are like babies too old for breast milk,
like those who no longer nurse at their mother’s breast.
10 So they make fun of the Lord’s prophet and say:
“A command here, a command there.
A rule here, a rule there.
A little lesson here, a little lesson there.”
11 So the Lord will use strange words and foreign languages
to speak to these people.
12 God said to them,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the tired people come and rest.
This is the place of peace.”
But the people would not listen.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — American Standard Version (ASV)
9 Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? 10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.
11 Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people; 12 to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand the report? Them that are weaned from the milk, withdrawn from the breasts? 10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little. … 11 For with stammering lips and a strange tongue will he speak to this people; 12 to whom he said, This is the rest: cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. But they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
9 To whom will they make the message understood?
To whom will they explain this message?
To children just weaned from milk?
To those just taken from their ⸤mother’s⸥ breasts?
10 They speak utter nonsense.
11 The Lord will speak to these people.
He will mock them by speaking in a foreign language.
12 He will say to them,
“This is a place for comfort.
This is a place of rest for those who are tired.
This is a place for them to rest.”
But they weren’t willing to listen.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
9 Who is he trying to teach?
Who is he trying to instruct?
Infants just weaned from milk?
Babies removed from the breast?
10 For he says: “Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.”
11 So He will speak to this people
with stammering speech
and in a foreign language.
12 He had said to them:
“This is the place of rest,
let the weary rest;
this is the place of repose.”
But they would not listen.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”
11 Truly, with stammering lip
and with alien tongue
he will speak to this people,
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”;
yet they would not hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
9 To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?
10 For it is blah-blah upon blah-blah,
blah-blah upon blah-blah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,
gah-gah upon gah-gah,
a little here, a little there.
11 For he will speak with stammering and another tongue to this people, 12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest; give rest to the weary;
and this is repose”; yet they were not willing to hear.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
9 My people are making fun of me. They say,
“Who does he think he’s trying to teach?
Who does he think he’s explaining his message to?
Is it to children who do not need their mother’s milk anymore?
Is it to those who have just been taken from her breast?
10 Here is how he teaches.
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.”
11 All right then, these people won’t listen to me.
So God will speak to them.
He will speak by using people who speak unfamiliar languages.
He will speak by using the mouths of strangers.
12 He said to his people,
“I am offering you a resting place.
Let those who are tired rest.”
He continued, “I am offering you a place of peace and quiet.”
But they wouldn’t listen.
Isaiah 28:9–12 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
9 “To whom would He teach knowledge,
And to whom would He interpret the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 “For He says,
‘Order on order, order on order,
Line on line, line on line,
A little here, a little there.’ ”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people
Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,”
And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen.