VerseAI

NIV

Isaiah 28

  1. 1<pb/><t>Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,</t> <t>to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,</t> <t>set on the head of a fertile valley—</t> <t>to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!</t>
  2. 2<t>See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.</t> <t>Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind,</t> <t>like a driving rain and a flooding downpour,</t> <t>he will throw it forcefully to the ground.</t>
  3. 3<t>That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,</t> <t>will be trampled underfoot.</t>
  4. 4<t>That fading flower, his glorious beauty,</t> <t>set on the head of a fertile valley,</t> <t>will be like figs ripe before harvest—</t> <t>as soon as people see them and take them in hand,</t> <t>they swallow them. <pb/></t>
  5. 5<t>In that day the LORD Almighty</t> <t>will be a glorious crown,</t> <t>a beautiful wreath</t> <t>for the remnant of his people.</t>
  6. 6<t>He will be a spirit of justice</t> <t>to the one who sits in judgment,</t> <t>a source of strength</t> <t>to those who turn back the battle at the gate. <pb/></t>
  7. 7<t>And these also stagger from wine</t> <t>and reel from beer:</t> <t>Priests and prophets stagger from beer</t> <t>and are befuddled with wine;</t> <t>they reel from beer,</t> <t>they stagger when seeing visions,</t> <t>they stumble when rendering decisions.</t>
  8. 8<t>All the tables are covered with vomit</t> <t>and there is not a spot without filth. <pb/></t>
  9. 9<t>“Who is it he is trying to teach?</t> <t>To whom is he explaining his message?</t> <t>To children weaned from their milk,</t> <t>to those just taken from the breast?</t>
  10. 10<t>For it is:</t> <t>Do this, do that,</t> <t>a rule for this, a rule for that<f>[60]</f>;</t> <t>a little here, a little there.” <pb/></t>
  11. 11<t>Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues</t> <t>God will speak to this people,</t>
  12. 12<t>to whom he said,</t> <t>“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;</t> <t>and, “This is the place of repose”—</t> <t>but they would not listen.</t>
  13. 13<t>So then, the word of the LORD to them will become:</t> <t>Do this, do that,</t> <t>a rule for this, a rule for that;</t> <t>a little here, a little there—</t> <t>so that as they go they will fall backward;</t> <t>they will be injured and snared and captured. <pb/></t>
  14. 14<t>Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers</t> <t>who rule this people in Jerusalem.</t>
  15. 15<t>You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,</t> <t>with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.</t> <t>When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,</t> <t>it cannot touch us,</t> <t>for we have made a lie our refuge</t> <t>and falsehood<f>[61]</f> our hiding place.”</t>
  16. 16<pb/>So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <pb/><t>“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,</t> <t>a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;</t> <t>the one who relies on it</t> <t>will never be stricken with panic.</t>
  17. 17<t>I will make justice the measuring line</t> <t>and righteousness the plumb line;</t> <t>hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,</t> <t>and water will overflow your hiding place.</t>
  18. 18<t>Your covenant with death will be annulled;</t> <t>your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.</t> <t>When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,</t> <t>you will be beaten down by it.</t>
  19. 19<t>As often as it comes it will carry you away;</t> <t>morning after morning, by day and by night,</t> <t>it will sweep through.” <pb/>The understanding of this message</t> <t>will bring sheer terror.</t>
  20. 20<t>The bed is too short to stretch out on,</t> <t>the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.</t>
  21. 21<t>The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,</t> <t>he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—</t> <t>to do his work, his strange work,</t> <t>and perform his task, his alien task.</t>
  22. 22<t>Now stop your mocking,</t> <t>or your chains will become heavier;</t> <t>the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has told me</t> <t>of the destruction decreed against the whole land. <pb/></t>
  23. 23<t>Listen and hear my voice;</t> <t>pay attention and hear what I say.</t>
  24. 24<t>When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?</t> <t>Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?</t>
  25. 25<t>When he has leveled the surface,</t> <t>does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?</t> <t>Does he not plant wheat in its place,<f>[62]</f></t> <t>barley in its plot,<f>[63]</f></t> <t>and spelt in its field?</t>
  26. 26<t>His God instructs him</t> <t>and teaches him the right way. <pb/></t>
  27. 27<t>Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,</t> <t>nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;</t> <t>caraway is beaten out with a rod,</t> <t>and cumin with a stick.</t>
  28. 28<t>Grain must be ground to make bread;</t> <t>so one does not go on threshing it forever.</t> <t>The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it,</t> <t>but one does not use horses to grind grain.</t>
  29. 29<t>All this also comes from the LORD Almighty,</t> <t>whose plan is wonderful,</t> <t>whose wisdom is magnificent.</t>