Esias 28

1 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.

Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, To the fading flower, his glorious beauty, At the head of the rich valley of a people stupefied with wine.

2 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.

Behold a strong, a mighty one from the Lord Like a storm of hail, like a destructive tempest, Like a flood of mighty, overflowing waters, With violence shall dash it to the ground.

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

It shall be trodden under foot, The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim.

4 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.

And the fading flower, their glorious beauty, At the head of the rich valley, Shall be as the early fig before the time of harvest, Which whoso seeth plucketh immediately, And swalloweth as soon as it is in his hand.

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

In that day shall Jehovah of hosts Be a glorious crown, and a beautiful diadem to the residue of his people;

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

A spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, And of strength to them that drive back the enemy to their gates.

7 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.

But even these stagger through wine, And reel through strong drink; The priest and the prophet stagger through strong drink; They are overpowered with wine; They stumble through strong drink; They reel in vision, They stagger in judgment.

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

For all their tables are full of filthy vomit, So that there is no place clean.

9 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.

“Whom,” say they, “will he teach knowledge, And to whom will he impart instruction? To the weaned from the milk? To those just taken from the breast?

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

For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon command, A little here, and a little there.”

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

Yea, with stammering lips and a strange tongue He shall indeed speak to this people;

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

He that said to them, “This is the way of rest, give rest to the weary; This is the way of safety”; But they would not hear.

13 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.

Then shall the word of Jehovah be indeed to them “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Command upon command, command upon command, A little here, and a little there,” So that they shall go on, and fall backwards, and be broken, And be snared and caught.

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

Wherefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, Ye scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem!

15 Because you 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)

Since ye say, “We have entered into a covenant with death, And with the under-world have we made an agreement, The overflowing scourge, when it passeth through, shall not reach us; For we have made falsehood our refuge, And in deceit we have hidden ourselves.” (Sheol h7585)

16 Therefore thus says 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I have laid in Zion as a foundation a stone, A tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation; He that trusteth shall not flee away.

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

I will make justice a line, And righteousness a plummet, And the hail shall sweep away the refuge of falsehood, And the waters shall overwhelm its hiding-place;

18 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, you shall be beaten down by it. (Sheol h7585)

And your covenant with death shall be broken, And your agreement with the under-world shall not stand; When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, By it shall ye be beaten down. (Sheol h7585)

19 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,

As often as it passeth through, it shall bear you away; For every morning shall it pass through, By day and by night; Even to hear the rumor of it shall be terrible.

20 you that are distressed; we can’t fight, but we are ourselves too weak for you to be gathered.

Yea, the bed is too short for one to stretch himself on it, And the covering too narrow for one to wrap himself in it.

21 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.

For Jehovah will rise up, as in mount Perazim; He will be moved with anger, as in the valley of Gibeon, To perform his act, his strange act, And to execute his work, his strange work.

22 Therefore do not you 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.

Now, therefore, be ye no longer scoffers, Lest your bands become stronger; For destruction and punishment have been revealed to me From Jehovah of hosts concerning the whole land!

23 Listen, and hear my voice; attend, and hear my words.

Give ear, and listen to my voice, Attend, and hearken to my words!

24 Will the plowman plow all the day? or will he prepare the seed beforehand, before he tills the ground?

Is the ploughman always ploughing in order to sow? Is he always opening and harrowing his field?

25 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 your borders?

When he hath made the face thereof even, Doth he not then scatter the dill, and cast abroad the cumin, And sow the wheat in rows, And the barley in its appointed place, And the spelt in his border?

26 So you shall be chastened by the judgment of your God, and shall rejoice.

Thus his God rightly instructeth him, And giveth him knowledge.

27 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;

The dill is not beaten out with the thrashing-sledge, Nor is the wheel of the wain rolled over the cumin; But the dill is beaten out with a staff, And the cumin with a rod.

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

Bread-corn is beaten out, Yet doth not the husbandman thrash it without limit. He driveth over it the wheels of the wain, And the horses, yet doth he not utterly crush it.

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

This also proceedeth from Jehovah of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel, Excellent in wisdom.