Isaiah 28

Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem

1 Ah, the proud crown of y the drunkards of Ephraim,
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
 2 Behold, the Lord has z one who is mighty and strong;
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,
he casts down to the earth with his hand.
 3 b The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim
will be trodden underfoot;
 4 c and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
which is on the head of the rich valley,
will be like d a first-ripe fig before the summer:
when someone sees it, he swallows it
as soon as it is in his hand.

5 e In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, 1
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,
 6 and f a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,
and g strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

7 h These also reel with wine
and i stagger with strong drink;
the priest and j the prophet reel with strong drink,
they are swallowed by 2 wine,
they stagger with strong drink,
they reel in vision,
they stumble in giving judgment.
 8 For all tables are full of filthy vomit,
with no space left.

9 k "To whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from the milk,
those 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."

11 l For by people of strange lips
and with a foreign tongue
the Lord will speak to this people,
 12 to whom he has said,
m "This is rest;
give rest to the weary;
and this is repose";
yet they would not hear.
 13 And the word of the Lord will be to them
precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,
n that they may go, and fall backward,
and be broken, and snared, and taken.

A Cornerstone in Zion

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you o scoffers,
who rule this people in Jerusalem!
 15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement,
when the p overwhelming whip passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made q lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter";
 16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
r "Behold, I am the one who has laid 3 as a foundation s 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 t the line,
and righteousness t the plumb line;
and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter."
 18 Then u 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.
 19 As often as it passes through it will take you;
v for morning by morning it will pass through,
by day and by night;
and it will be w sheer terror to understand the message.
 20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,
and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.
 21 For the Lord will rise up x as on Mount Perazim;
y as in the Valley of z Gibeon he will be roused;
to do his deed - strange is his deed!
and to work his work - alien is his work!
 22 Now therefore do not a scoff,
lest your bonds be made strong;
for I have heard b a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.

23 Give ear, and hear my voice;
give attention, and hear my speech.
 24 Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?
Does he continually open and harrow his ground?
 25 c When he has leveled its surface,
does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and put in wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place,
and emmer 4 as the border?
 26 d For he is rightly instructed;
his God teaches him.

27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
 28 Does one crush grain for bread?
No, he does not thresh it forever; 5
when he drives his cart wheel over it
with his horses, he does not crush it.
 29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is e wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.

  1. Cross References
    Hosea 7:5
    On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; he stretched out his hand with mockers.
  2. Cross References
    Isaiah 8:7
    Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:15
    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".
    Isaiah 28:18
    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.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:1
    Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!
  5. Cross References
    Amos 8:1 - 2
    This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.
  6. Cross References
    Hosea 9:10
    Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers. But they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to the thing of shame, and became detestable like the thing they loved.
    Micah 7:1
    Woe is me! For I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the grapes have been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:11
    The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
  8. Cross References
    1 Kings 3:28
    And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 38:6
    I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 3:12
    My people - infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.
  11. Cross References
    Hosea 4:11
    Whoredom, wine, and new wine, which take away the understanding.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 9:15
    The elder and honored man is the head, and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail.
    Isaiah 56:10
    His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
    Isaiah 56:12
    "Come," they say, "let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure."
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 6:10
    To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.
  14. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 14:21
    In the Law it is written, "By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.
    Isaiah 5:26 - 29
    He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:15
    For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling.
    Matthew 11:28 - 29
    Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 8:15
    And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:22
    Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land.
    Isaiah 29:20
    For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:2
    Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand.
    Isaiah 28:18
    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.
    Isaiah 8:7 - 8
    Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks.
  19. Cross References
    Romans 1:25
    Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
  20. Cross References
    Romans 9:33
    As it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
    1 Peter 2:6
    For it stands in Scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
    Psalms 118:22
    The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
    Matthew 21:42
    Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
    Acts 4:11
    This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 14:32
    What will one answer the messengers of the nation? "The Lord has founded Zion, and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.
  22. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:13
    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
  23. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:13
    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
  24. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:15
    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".
  25. Cross References
    Isaiah 50:4
    The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
  26. Cross References
    2 Chronicles 32:18
    And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city.
  27. Cross References
    2 Samuel 5:20
    And David came to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there. And he said, "The Lord has burst through my enemies before me like a bursting flood." Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.
    1 Chronicles 14:11
    And he went up to Baal-perazim, and David struck them down there. And David said, "God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like a bursting flood." Therefore the name of that place is called Baal-perazim.
  28. Cross References
    Joshua 10:10 - 14
    And the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel, who struck them with a great blow at Gibeon and chased them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
  29. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 14:16
    And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer.
    Joshua 9:3
    But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai.
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:14
    Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem!
  31. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:23
    For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 55:10 - 11
    For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
  33. Cross References
    Isaiah 21:10
    O my threshed and winnowed one, what I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, I announce to you.
  34. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:19
    Great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
    Isaiah 9:6
    For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Previous Book Next Book