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Isaiah 28:11-29
American Standard Version
Isaiah 28:11-29
American Standard Version
11 [a]Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak 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. 13 Therefore shall the word of Jehovah 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.
14 Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem: 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol 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: 16 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I [b]lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste. 17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. 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. 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. 21 For Jehovah will rise up as in mount Perazim, he will 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. 22 Now therefore be ye not scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for [c]a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, upon the whole [d]earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24 Doth he that ploweth to sow plow continually? doth he continually open and harrow his ground? 25 When he hath levelled the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the [e]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? 26 [f]For his God doth instruct him aright, and doth teach him. 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. 28 [g]Bread grain is ground; for he will not be always threshing it: and though the wheel of his cart and his horses scatter it, he doth not grind it. 29 This also cometh forth from Jehovah of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in [h]wisdom.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Isaiah 28:11 Or, For with stammering lips
- Isaiah 28:16 Or, have laid
- Isaiah 28:22 Hebrew destruction, and that decreed.
- Isaiah 28:22 Or, land
- Isaiah 28:25 Or, black cummin (Nigella sativa)
- Isaiah 28:26 Or, And he traineth each of them aright; his God doth teach him
- Isaiah 28:28 Or, Is bread grain crushed? Nay, he will not ever be threshing it, and driving his cart wheels and his horses over it; he doth not crush it
- Isaiah 28:29 Or, effectual working
Isaiah 28:11-29
New International Version
Isaiah 28:11-29
New International Version
11 Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues(A)
God will speak to this people,(B)
12 to whom he said,
“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;(C)
and, “This is the place of repose”—
but they would not listen.
13 So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
Do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there(D)—
so that as they go they will fall backward;
they will be injured(E) and snared and captured.(F)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(G) you scoffers(H)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,(I)
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(J)
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie(K) our refuge
and falsehood[a] our hiding place.(L)”
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,(M) a tested stone,(N)
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;(O)
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.(P)
17 I will make justice(Q) the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line;(R)
hail(S) will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow(T) your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.(U)
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,(V)
you will be beaten down(W) by it.
19 As often as it comes it will carry you away;(X)
morning after morning,(Y) by day and by night,
it will sweep through.”
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.(Z)
20 The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.(AA)
21 The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,(AB)
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon(AC)—
to do his work,(AD) his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22 Now stop your mocking,(AE)
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed(AF) against the whole land.(AG)
23 Listen(AH) and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24 When a farmer plows for planting,(AI) does he plow continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?(AJ)
Does he not plant wheat in its place,[b]
barley(AK) in its plot,[c]
and spelt(AL) in its field?
26 His God instructs him
and teaches(AM) him the right way.
27 Caraway is not threshed(AN) with a sledge,(AO)
nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,(AP)
and cumin with a stick.
28 Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it forever.
The wheels of a threshing cart(AQ) may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29 All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,(AR)
whose wisdom is magnificent.(AS)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 28:15 Or false gods
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
American Standard Version (ASV)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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