Isaiah 28–30

Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah

28Woe^f to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s^g drunkards,

to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,

set on the head of a fertile valley^h—

to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!ⁱ

²See, the Lord has one who is powerful^j and strong.

Like a hailstorm^k and a destructive wind,^l

like a driving rain and a flooding^m downpour,

he will throw it forcefully to the ground.

³That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’sⁿ drunkards,

will be trampled^o underfoot.

⁴That fading flower, his glorious beauty,

set on the head of a fertile valley,^p

will be like figs^q ripe before harvest—

as soon as people see them and take them in hand,

they swallow them.

⁵In that day^r the Lord Almighty

will be a glorious^s crown,^t

a beautiful wreath

for the remnant^u of his people.

⁶He will be a spirit of justice^v

to the one who sits in judgment,^w

a source of strength

to those who turn back the battle^x at the gate.

⁷And these also stagger^y from wine^z

and reel^a from beer:

Priests^b and prophets^c stagger from beer

and are befuddled with wine;

they reel from beer,

they stagger when seeing visions,^d

they stumble when rendering decisions.

⁸All the tables are covered with vomit^e

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 weaned^h from their milk,ⁱ

to those just taken from the breast?

¹⁰For it is:

Do this, do that,

a rule for this, a rule for that^a;

a little here, a little there.^j”

¹¹Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues^k

God will speak to this people,^l

¹²to whom he said,

“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;^m

and, “This is the place of repose”—

but they would not listen.

¹³So 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 injured^o and snared and captured.^p

¹⁴Therefore hear the word of the Lord,^q you scoffers^r

who rule this people in Jerusalem.

¹⁵You 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 lie^u our refuge

and falsehood^b our hiding place.^v”

¹⁶So 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

¹⁷I will make justice^a the measuring line

and righteousness the plumb line;^b

hail^c will sweep away your refuge, the lie,

and water will overflow^d your hiding place.

¹⁸Your 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 down^g by it.

¹⁹As 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

²⁰The bed is too short to stretch out on,

the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.^k

²¹The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,^l

he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon^m—

to do his work,ⁿ his strange work,

and perform his task, his alien task.

²²Now stop your mocking,^o

or your chains will become heavier;

the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me

of the destruction decreed^p against the whole land.^q

²³Listen^r and hear my voice;

pay attention and hear what I say.

²⁴When a farmer plows for planting,^s does he plow continually?

Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?

²⁵When he has leveled the surface,

does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?^t

Does he not plant wheat in its place,^c

barley^u in its plot,^d

and spelt^v in its field?

²⁶His God instructs him

and teaches^w him the right way.

²⁷Caraway is not threshed^x 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.

²⁸Grain must be ground to make bread;

so one does not go on threshing it forever.

The wheels of a threshing cart^a may be rolled over it,

but one does not use horses to grind grain.

²⁹All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,

whose plan is wonderful,^b

whose wisdom is magnificent.^c

Woe to David’s City

29Woe^d to you, Ariel, Ariel,^e

the city^f where David settled!

Add year to year

and let your cycle of festivals^g go on.

²Yet I will besiege Ariel;^h

she will mourn and lament,ⁱ

she will be to me like an altar hearth.^aj

³I will encamp against you on all sides;

I will encircle^k you with towers

and set up my siege works^l against you.

⁴Brought low, you will speak from the ground;

your speech will mumble^m out of the dust.ⁿ

Your voice will come ghostlike^o from the earth;

out of the dust your speech will whisper.^p

⁵But your many enemies will become like fine dust,^q

the ruthless^r hordes like blown chaff.^s

Suddenly,^t in an instant,

⁶the Lord Almighty will come^u

with thunder^v and earthquake^w and great noise,

with windstorm and tempest^x and flames of a devouring fire.^y

⁷Then the hordes of all the nations^z 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—

⁸as when a hungry person dreams of eating,

but awakens^c 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

⁹Be stunned and amazed,^f

blind yourselves and be sightless;^g

be drunk,^h but not from wine,ⁱ

stagger,^j but not from beer.

¹⁰The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep:^k

He has sealed your eyes^l (the prophets);^m

he has covered your heads (the seers).ⁿ

¹¹For you this whole vision^o is nothing but words sealed^p 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.” ¹²Or 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.”

¹³The Lord says:

“These people^q 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.^bt

¹⁴Therefore once more I will astound these people

with wonder upon wonder;^u

the wisdom of the wise^v will perish,

the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.^w”

¹⁵Woe to those who go to great depths

to hide^x their plans from the Lord,

who do their work in darkness and think,

“Who sees us?^y Who will know?”^z

¹⁶You 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 formed^b it,

“You did not make me”?

Can the pot say to the potter,^c

“You know nothing”?^d

¹⁷In a very short time,^e will not Lebanon^f be turned into a fertile field^g

and the fertile field seem like a forest?^h

¹⁸In that dayⁱ the deaf^j will hear the words of the scroll,

and out of gloom and darkness^k

the eyes of the blind will see.^l

¹⁹Once more the humble^m will rejoice in the Lord;

the needyⁿ will rejoice in the Holy One^o of Israel.

²⁰The ruthless^p will vanish,^q

the mockers^r will disappear,

and all who have an eye for evil^s will be cut down—

²¹those who with a word make someone out to be guilty,

who ensnare the defender in court^t

and with false testimony^u deprive the innocent of justice.^v

²²Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed^w Abraham,^x says to the descendants of Jacob:

“No longer will Jacob be ashamed;^y

no longer will their faces grow pale.^z

²³When 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 One^d of Jacob,

and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

²⁴Those who are wayward^e in spirit will gain understanding;^f

those who complain will accept instruction.”^g

Woe to the Obstinate Nation

30“Woe^h 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;

²who go down to Egypt^k

without consulting^l me;

who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,^m

to Egypt’s shade for refuge.ⁿ

³But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,

Egypt’s shade^o will bring you disgrace.^p

⁴Though they have officials in Zoan^q

and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,

⁵everyone will be put to shame

because of a people^r useless^s to them,

who bring neither help^t nor advantage,

but only shame and disgrace.^u”

⁶A prophecy^v concerning the animals of the Negev:^w

Through a land of hardship and distress,^x

of lions^y and lionesses,

of adders and darting snakes,^z

the envoys carry their riches on donkeys’^a backs,

their treasures^b on the humps of camels,

to that unprofitable nation,

⁷to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless.^c

Therefore I call her

Rahab^d the Do-Nothing.

⁸Go now, write it on a tablet^e for them,

inscribe it on a scroll,^f

that for the days to come

it may be an everlasting witness.^g

⁹For these are rebellious^h people, deceitfulⁱ children,

children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.^j

¹⁰They say to the seers,^k

“See no more visions^l!”

and to the prophets,

“Give us no more visions of what is right!

Tell us pleasant things,^m

prophesy illusions.ⁿ

¹¹Leave this way,^o

get off this path,

and stop confronting^p us

with the Holy One^q of Israel!”

¹²Therefore this is what the Holy One^r of Israel says:

“Because you have rejected this message,^s

relied on oppression^t

and depended on deceit,

¹³this sin will become for you

like a high wall,^u cracked and bulging,

that collapses^v suddenly,^w in an instant.

¹⁴It 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.”

¹⁵This is what the Sovereign^y Lord, the Holy One^z of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest^a is your salvation,

in quietness and trust^b is your strength,

but you would have none of it.^c

¹⁶You said, ‘No, we…