Isaiah 28:1–31:9
Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah
28 Woef to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’sg drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valleyh—
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!i
2 See, the Lord has one who is powerfulj and strong.
Like a hailstormk and a destructive wind,l
like a driving rain and a floodingm downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’sn drunkards,
will be trampledo underfoot.
4 That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,p
will be like figsq ripe before harvest—
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5 In that dayr the Lord Almighty
a beautiful wreath
for the remnantu of his people.
6 He will be a spirit of justicev
to the one who sits in judgment,w
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battlex at the gate.
7 And these also staggery from winez
and reela from beer:
Priestsb and prophetsc stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,d
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8 All the tables are covered with vomite
and there is not a spot without filth.
9 “Who is it he is trying to teach?f
To whom is he explaining his message?g
To children weanedh from their milk,i
to those just taken from the breast?
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for thata;
a little here, a little there.j”
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tonguesk
God will speak to this people,l
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;m
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 theren—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injuredo and snared and captured.p
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,q you scoffersr
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,s
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,t
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lieu our refuge
and falsehoodb our hiding place.v”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,w a tested stone,x
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;y
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.z
17 I will make justicea the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;b
hailc will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflowd your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.e
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,f
you will be beaten downg by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;h
morning after morning,i by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.j
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.k
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,l
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeonm—
to do his work,n his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,o
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreedp against the whole land.q
23 Listenr and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,s 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?t
Does he not plant wheat in its place,c
and speltv in its field?
and teachesw him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshedx with a sledge,y
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,z
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 carta 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,b
whose wisdom is magnificent.c
29 Woed to you, Ariel, Ariel,e
the cityf where David settled!
Add year to year
and let your cycle of festivalsg go on.
2 Yet I will besiege Ariel;h
she will mourn and lament,i
she will be to me like an altar hearth.a j
3 I will encamp against you on all sides;
I will encirclek you with towers
and set up my siege worksl against you.
4 Brought low, you will speak from the ground;
your speech will mumblem out of the dust.n
Your voice will come ghostlikeo from the earth;
out of the dust your speech will whisper.p
5 But your many enemies will become like fine dust,q
the ruthlessr hordes like blown chaff.s
Suddenly,t in an instant,
6 the Lord Almighty will comeu
with thunderv and earthquakew and great noise,
with windstorm and tempestx and flames of a devouring fire.y
7 Then the hordes of all the nationsz that fight against Ariel,a
that attack her and her fortress and besiege her,
will be as it is with a dream,b
with a vision in the night—
8 as when a hungry person dreams of eating,
but awakensc hungry still;
as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking,
but awakens faint and thirsty still.d
So will it be with the hordes of all the nations
that fight against Mount Zion.e
9 Be stunned and amazed,f
blind yourselves and be sightless;g
be drunk,h but not from wine,i
stagger,j but not from beer.
10 The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:k
He has sealed your eyesl (the prophets);m
he has covered your heads (the seers).n
11 For you this whole visiono is nothing but words sealedp in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” 12 Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, “Read this, please,” they will answer, “I don’t know how to read.”
“These peopleq come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,r
but their hearts are far from me.s
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.b t
14 Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;u
the wisdom of the wisev will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.w”
15 Woe to those who go to great depths
to hidex their plans from the Lord,
who do their work in darkness and think,
“Who sees us?y Who will know?”z
16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!a
Shall what is formed say to the one who formedb it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,c
“You know nothing”?d
17 In a very short time,e will not Lebanonf be turned into a fertile fieldg
and the fertile field seem like a forest?h
18 In that dayi the deafj will hear the words of the scroll,
and out of gloom and darknessk
the eyes of the blind will see.l
19 Once more the humblem will rejoice in the Lord;
the needyn will rejoice in the Holy Oneo of Israel.
20 The ruthlessp will vanish,q
the mockersr will disappear,
and all who have an eye for evils will be cut down—
21 those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,
who ensnare the defender in courtt
and with false testimonyu deprive the innocent of justice.v
22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemedw Abraham,x says to the descendants of Jacob:
“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;y
no longer will their faces grow pale.z
23 When they see among them their children,a
the work of my hands,b
they will keep my name holy;c
they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy Oned of Jacob,
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who are waywarde in spirit will gain understanding;f
those who complain will accept instruction.”g
30 “Woeh to the obstinate children,”i
declares the Lord,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance,j but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egyptk
without consultingl me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,m
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.n
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shadeo will bring you disgrace.p
4 Though they have officials in Zoanq
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a peopler uselesss to them,
who bring neither helpt nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.u”
6 A prophecyv concerning the animals of the Negev:w
Through a land of hardship and distress,x
of lionsy and lionesses,
of adders and darting snakes,z
the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’a backs,
their treasuresb on the humps of camels,
to that unprofitable nation,
7 to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.c
Therefore I call her
Rahabd the Do-Nothing.
8 Go now, write it on a tablete for them,
inscribe it on a scroll,f
that for the days to come
it may be an everlasting witness.g
9 For these are rebellioush people, deceitfuli children,
children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.j
10 They say to the seers,k
“See no more visionsl!”
and to the prophets,
“Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,m
prophesy illusions.n
11 Leave this way,o
get off this path,
and stop confrontingp us
with the Holy Oneq of Israel!”
12 Therefore this is what the Holy Oner of Israel says:
“Because you have rejected this message,s
relied on oppressiont
and depended on deceit,
13 this sin will become for you
like a high wall,u cracked and bulging,
that collapsesv suddenly,w in an instant.
14 It will break in pieces like pottery,x
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern.”
15 This is what the Sovereigny Lord, the Holy Onez of Israel, says:
“In repentance and resta is your salvation,
in quietness and trustb is your strength,
but you would have none of it.c