Isaiah 28:14-22

Contemporary English Version

False Security Is Fatal

¹⁴You rulers of Jerusalem
    do nothing but sneer;
now you must listen
    to what the Lord says.
¹⁵^(A) Do you think you have
an agreement with death
    and the world of the dead?
Why do you trust in your lies
to keep you safe from danger
    and the mighty flood?

¹⁶^(B) And so the Lord says,
“I'm laying a firm foundation
    for the city of Zion.
It's a valuable cornerstone
    proven to be trustworthy;
no one who trusts it
    will ever be disappointed.
¹⁷Justice and fairness
will be the measuring lines
    that help me build.”

Hailstones and floods
will destroy and wash away
    your shelter of lies.
¹⁸Your agreement with death
and the world of the dead
    will be broken.
Then angry, roaring waves
    will sweep over you.
¹⁹Morning, noon, and night
an overwhelming flood
    will wash you away.
The terrible things that happen
    will teach you this lesson:
²⁰Your bed is too short,
    your blanket too skimpy.^[a]

²¹^(C) The Lord will fiercely attack
as he did at Mount Perazim^[b]
    and in Gibeon Valley.^[c]
But this time the Lord
will do something surprising,
    not what you expect.
²²So you had better stop sneering
or you will be in worse shape
    than ever before.
I heard the Lord All-Powerful
threaten the whole country
    with destruction.

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Footnotes

28.20 Your bed … skimpy: Isaiah quotes a popular saying to teach that the treaty made with Egypt (verse 18) cannot give the nation security from its enemies.
28.21 Mount Perazim: This may refer to David's defeat of the Philistines at Baal Perazim (2 Samuel 5.17-21).
28.21 Gibeon Valley: This refers to Joshua's victory at Gibeon (Joshua 10.1-11).