Isaiah 28

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

Ho! crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim, and the dead flower of his glory which is on the head of those who are overcome by strong drink!

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

See, the Lord has a strong and cruel one; like a rain of ice, a storm of destruction, like the overflowing of a strong river, he will violently overcome them.

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

The crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim will be crushed under foot;

4 and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the firstripe fig before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up.

And the dead flower of his glory, which is on the head of the fertile valley, will be like the first early fruit before the summer; which a man takes and puts in his mouth the minute he sees it.

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 will the Lord of armies be a crown of glory, and a fair ornament, to the rest of his people;

6 and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate.

And a spirit of wisdom to the judge, and strength to those who keep back the attackers at the door of the town.

7 But these also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are gone astray; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are gone astray through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.

And further, these are uncertain through wine, and have gone out of the right way through strong drink: the priest and the prophet are uncertain through strong drink, they are overcome by wine, they have gone out of the way through strong drink; their vision is false, they go wrong in their decisions.

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

For all the tables are covered with coughed-up food, so that there is not a clean place.

9 Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts?

To whom will he give knowledge? and to whom will he make clear the word? Will it be to those who have newly given up milk, and who have only now been taken from the breast?

10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little.

For it is one rule after another; one line after another; here a little, there a little.

11 Nay, but by [men of] strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people:

No, but with broken talk, and with a strange tongue, he will give his word to this people:

12 to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

To whom he said, This is the rest, give rest to him who is tired; and by this you may get new strength; but they would not give ear.

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

For this cause the word of the Lord will be to them rule after rule, line after line, here a little, there a little; so that they may go on their way, and falling back may be broken, and taken in the net.

14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem:

Give ear then to the word of the Lord, you men of pride, the rulers of this people in Jerusalem:

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: (Sheol h7585)

Because you have said, We have made death our friend, and with the underworld we have made an agreement; when the overflowing waters come through they will not come near us; for we are looking to false words for help, taking cover in what is untrue: (Sheol h7585)

16 therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, 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 make haste.

For this cause says the Lord God, See, I am placing in Zion as a base, a stone, a tested stone, an angle-stone which is certain and of great value: and he who has faith will not give way.

17 And I will make judgment the line, and righteousness the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

And I will make right decision the measuring-line, and righteousness the weight: and the ice-storm will take away the safe place of false words, and the secret place will be covered by the flowing waters.

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. (Sheol h7585)

And the help you were looking for from death will come to nothing, and your agreement with the underworld will be broken; when the overflowing waters come through, then you will be overcome by them. (Sheol h7585)

19 As often as it passeth through, it shall take you; for morning by morning shall it pass through, by day and by night: and it shall be nought but terror to understand the message.

Whenever they come through they will overtake you; for they will come through morning after morning, by day and by night: and the news will be nothing but fear.

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.

For the bed is not long enough for a man to be stretched out on: and the cover is not wide enough for him to be covered with.

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

For the Lord will come up as on Mount Perazim, he will be moved to wrath as in the valley of Gibeon; so that he may do his work — strange is his work; and give effect to his act — unnatural is his act.

22 Now therefore be ye not scorners, lest your bands be made strong: for a consummation, and that determined, have I heard from the Lord, the LORD of hosts, upon the whole earth.

And now, take care that you do not make sport of him, or your bands will be made strong; for I have had word from the Lord, the Lord of armies, of an end, of a complete end, which is to come on all the land.

23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.

Let your ears be open to my voice; give attention to what I say.

24 Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? doth he [continually] open and break the clods of his ground?

Is the ploughman for ever ploughing? does he not get the earth ready and broken up for the seed?

25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place and the spelt in the border thereof?

When the face of the earth has been levelled, does he not put in the different sorts of seed, and the grain in lines, and the barley in its place, and the spelt at the edge?

26 For his God doth instruct him aright, [and] doth teach him.

For his God is his teacher, giving him the knowledge of these things.

27 For the fitches are not threshed with a sharp [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 fitches are not crushed with a sharp instrument, and a cart-wheel is not rolled over the cummin; but the grain of the fitches is hammered out with a stick, and of the cummin with a rod.

28 Bread [corn] is ground; for he will not ever be threshing it: and though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, he doth not grind it.

Is the grain for bread crushed? He does not go on crushing it for ever, but he lets his cart-wheels and his horses go over it without crushing it.

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

This comes from the Lord of armies, purposing wonders, and wise in all his acts.