15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have an agreement,

when the overwhelming whip passes through

it will not come to us,

for we have made lies our refuge,

and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;

16 therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

17 And I will make justice the line,

and righteousness the plumb line;

and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”

18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be beaten down by it.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, And with hell are we at agreement; When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: He that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, And righteousness to the plummet: And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, And your agreement with hell shall not stand; When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, Then ye shall be trodden down by it.

15 You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death

and have made a deal to dodge the grave.

The coming destruction can never touch us,

for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”

16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,

a firm and tested stone.

It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.

Whoever believes need never be shaken.

17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice

and the plumb line of righteousness.

Since your refuge is made of lies,

a hailstorm will knock it down.

Since it is made of deception,

a flood will sweep it away.

18 I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,

and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.

When the terrible enemy sweeps through,

you will be trampled into the ground.

15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

And with Sheol we are in agreement.

When the overflowing scourge passes through,

It will not come to us,

For we have made lies our refuge,

And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,

A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

Whoever believes will not act hastily.

17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,

And righteousness the plummet;

The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

And the waters will overflow the hiding place.

18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,

And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

When the overflowing scourge passes through,

Then you will be trampled down by it.

15 You say, “We have made an agreement with death;

we have a contract with death.

When terrible punishment passes by,

it won’t hurt us.

Our lies will keep us safe,

and our tricks will hide us.”

16 Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says:

“I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem,

a tested stone.

Everything will be built on this important and precious rock.

Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.

17 I will use justice as a measuring line

and goodness as the standard.

The lies you hide behind will be destroyed as if by hail.

They will be washed away as if in a flood.

18 Your agreement with death will be erased;

your contract with death will not help you.

When terrible punishment comes,

you will be crushed by it.

15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste. 17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. 18 And your covenant with death 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.

15 For ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol have we made an agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I lay for foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that trusteth shall not make haste. 17 And I will appoint judgment for a line, and righteousness for a plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, ye shall be trodden down by it.

15 You say, “We made a treaty with death 

and an agreement with the grave. 

When the overwhelming disaster passes by, 

it won’t matter to us, 

because we have taken refuge in our lies, 

and falsehood is our hiding place.” 

16 This is what the Almighty Lord says: 

I am going to lay a rock in Zion, 

a rock that has been tested, 

a precious cornerstone, 

a solid foundation. 

Whoever believes ⸤in him⸥ will not worry. 

17 I will make justice a measuring line 

and righteousness a plumb line. 

Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, 

and floodwaters will wash away your hiding place. 

18 Your treaty with death will be wiped away. 

Your agreement with the grave will not stand. 

When the overwhelming disaster passes by, 

you will be trampled by it. 

15 For you said, “We have cut a deal with Death,

and we have made an agreement with Sheol;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through,

it will not touch us,

because we have made falsehood our refuge

and have hidden behind treachery.”

16 Therefore the Lord God said:

“Look, I have laid a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;

the one who believes will be unshakable.

17 And I will make justice the measuring line

and righteousness the mason’s level.”

Hail will sweep away the false refuge,

and water will flood your hiding place.

18 Your deal with Death will be dissolved,

and your agreement with Sheol will not last.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through,

you will be trampled.

15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

and with Sheol we have an agreement;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through

it will not come to us;

for we have made lies our refuge,

and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;

16 therefore thus says the Lord God,

See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:

“One who trusts will not panic.”

17 And I will make justice the line,

and righteousness the plummet;

hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will overwhelm the shelter.

18 Then your covenant with death will be annulled,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

when the overwhelming scourge passes through

you will be beaten down by it.

15 Because you have said,

“We have made a covenant with death,

and we have made an agreement with Sheol.

The overwhelming flood, when it passes through, will not come to us,

for we have made lies our refuge,

and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.”

16 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says this:

“Look! I am laying a stone in Zion,

a tested stone,

a precious cornerstone,

a founded foundation:

‘The one who trusts will not panic.’

17 And I will make justice the measuring line,

and righteousness the plumb line;

and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,

and waters will flood over the hiding place.

18 And your covenant with death will be annulled,

and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;

you will become a trampling place for the overwhelming flood when it passes through.

15 You brag, “We have entered into a covenant with death.

We have made an agreement with the grave.

When a terrible plague comes to punish us,

it can’t touch us.

That’s because we depend on lies to keep us safe.

We hide behind what isn’t true.”

16 So the Lord and King speaks. He says,

“Look! I am laying a stone in Zion.

It is a stone that has been tested.

It is the most important stone for a firm foundation.

The one who trusts in that stone will never be shaken.

17 I will use a measuring line to prove that you have not been fair.

I will use a plumb line to prove that you have not done what is right.

Hail will sweep away the lies you depend on to keep you safe.

Water will flood your hiding place.

18 Your covenant with death will be called off.

The agreement you made with the grave will not stand.

When the terrible plague comes to punish you,

you will be beaten down by it.

15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,

And with Sheol we have made a pact.

The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by,

For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,

A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.

He who believes in it will not be disturbed.

17 “I will make justice the measuring line

And righteousness the level;

Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies

And the waters will overflow the secret place.

18 “Your covenant with death will be canceled,

And your pact with Sheol will not stand;

When the overwhelming scourge passes through,

Then you become its trampling place.