Isaiah 28

1 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!

Woe to the crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, the flower that has fallen from the glory of the top of the fertile mountain, they that are drunken without wine.

2 Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.

Behold, the anger of the Lord is strong and severe, as descending hail where there is no shelter, violently descending; as a great body of water sweeping away the soil, he shall make rest for the land.

3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:

The crown of pride, the hirelings of Ephraim, shall be beaten down with the hands and with the feet.

4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looks upon it sees, while it is yet in his hand he eats it up.

And the fading flower of the glorious hope on the top of the high mountain shall be as the early fig; he that sees it, before he takes it into his hand, will desire to swallow it down.

5 In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people,

In that day the Lord of hosts shall be the crown of hope, the woven [crown] of glory, to the remnant of the people.

6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

They shall be left in the spirit of judgment for judgment, and for the strength of them that hinder slaying.

7 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 go astray in vision, they stumble in judgment.

For these have trespassed through wine; they have erred through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are mad through strong drink, they are swallowed up by reason of wine, they have staggered through drunkenness; they have erred: this is [their] vision.

8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

A curse shall devour this counsel, for this [is their] counsel for the sake of covetousness.

9 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.

To whom have we reported evils? and to whom have we reported a message? [even to those] that are weaned from the milk, who are drawn from the breast.

10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Expect thou affliction on affliction, hope upon hope: yet a little, [and] yet a little,

11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.

by reason of the contemptuous [words] of the lips, by means of another language: for they shall speak to this people, saying to them,

12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith all of you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

This is the rest to him that is hungry, and this is the calamity: but they would not hear.

13 But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

Therefore the oracle of God shall be to them affliction on affliction, hope on hope, yet a little, [and] yet a little, that they may go and fall backward; and they shall be crushed and shall be in danger, and shall be taken.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, all of you scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.

Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, ye afflicted men, and ye princes of this people that is in Jerusalem.

15 Because all of you 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: (Sheol h7585)

Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with Hades, and agreements with death; if the rushing storm should pass, it shall not come upon us: we have made falsehood our hope, and by falsehood shall we be protected: (Sheol h7585)

16 Therefore thus says 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 believes shall not make haste.

Therefore thus saith the Lord, [even] the Lord, Behold, I lay for the foundations of Sion a costly stone, a choice, a corner-stone, a precious [stone], for its foundations; and he that believes [on him] shall by no means be ashamed.

17 Judgment also will I apply 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.

And I will cause judgment [to be] for hope, and my compassion shall be for [just] measures, and ye that trust vainly in falsehood [shall fall]: for the storm shall by no means pass by you,

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 all of you shall be trodden down by it. (Sheol h7585)

except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. (Sheol h7585)

19 From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Whenever it shall pass by, it shall take you; morning by morning it shall pass by in the day, and in the night there shall be an evil hope. Learn to hear,

20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.

ye that are distressed; we cannot fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.

21 For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be angry as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.

The Lord shall rise up as a mountain of ungodly [men], and shall be in the valley of Gabaon; he shall perform his works with wrath, [even] a work of bitterness, and his wrath shall deal strangely, and his destruction shall be strange.

22 Now therefore be all of you not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.

Therefore do not ye rejoice, neither let your bands be made strong; for I have heard of works finished and cut short by the Lord of hosts, which he will execute upon all the earth.

23 Give all of you ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

Hearken, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words.

24 Does the plowman plow all day to sow? does he open and break the clods of his ground?

Will the ploughman plough all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?

25 When he has made plain the face thereof, does he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the spelt in their place?

Does he not, when he has levelled the surface thereof, then sow the small black poppy, or cumin, and afterward sow wheat, and barley, and millet, and bread-corn in thy borders?

26 For his God does instruct him to discretion, and does teach him.

So thou shalt be chastened by the judgment of thy God, and shalt rejoice.

27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.

For the black poppy is not cleansed with harsh treatment, nor will a wagon-wheel pass over the cumin; but the black poppy is threshed with a rod, and the cumin shall be eaten with bread;

28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

for I will not be wroth with you for ever, neither shall the voice of my anger crush you.

29 This also comes forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.

And these signs came forth from the Lord of hosts. Take counsel, exalt vain comfort.