Isaiah 28:7–12

These also reel with wine

and stagger with strong drink;

the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,

they are swallowed by wine,

they stagger with strong drink,

they reel in vision,

they stumble in giving judgment.

For all tables are full of filthy vomit,

with no space left.

“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?

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,

line upon line, line upon line,

here a little, there a little.”

For by people of strange lips

and with a foreign tongue

the Lord will speak to this people,

to whom he has said,

“This is rest;

give rest to the weary;

and this is repose”;

yet they would not hear.

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.

All the tables are covered with vomit

and there is not a spot without filth.

“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?

For it is:

Do this, do that,

a rule for this, a rule for that;

a little here, a little there.”

Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues

God will speak to this people,

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.

Even these stagger because of wine

and stumble under the influence of beer:

Priest and prophet stagger because of beer.

They are confused by wine.

They stumble because of beer.

They are muddled in their visions.

They stumble in their judgments.

Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit;

there is no place without a stench.

Who is he trying to teach?

Who is he trying to instruct?

Infants just weaned from milk?

Babies removed from the breast?

“Law after law, law after law,

line after line, line after line,

a little here, a little there.”

For he will speak to this people

with stammering speech

and in a foreign language.

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.

Now, however, Israel is led by drunks

who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.

The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol

and lose themselves in wine.

They reel when they see visions

and stagger as they render decisions.

Their tables are covered with vomit;

filth is everywhere.

“Who does the Lord think we are?” they ask.

“Why does he speak to us like this?

Are we little children,

just recently weaned?

He tells us everything over and over—

one line at a time,

one line at a time,

a little here,

and a little there!”

So now God will have to speak to his people

through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!

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.

But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way;

The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,

They are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink;

They err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness,

So that there is no place clean.

Whom shall he teach knowledge?

And whom shall he make to understand doctrine?

Them that are weaned from the milk,

And drawn from the breasts.

For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept;

Line upon line, line upon line;

Here a little, and there a little:

For with stammering lips and another tongue

Will he speak to this people.

To whom he said,

This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest;

And this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.