A Deal with Death

14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord,(A) you scoffers(B)
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol;
when the overwhelming catastrophe[a] passes through,(C)
it will not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden behind treachery.”
16 Therefore the Lord God said:
“Look, I have laid a stone(D) in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;(E)
the one who believes will be unshakable.[b](F)
17 And I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the mason’s level.”(G)
Hail will sweep away the false refuge,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18 Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,
you will be trampled.
19 Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning—
every day and every night.
Only terror(H) will cause you
to understand the message.[c]
20 Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its cover too small to wrap up in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim.(I)
He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon,(J)
to do his work, his unexpected work,
and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
22 So now, do not scoff,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Armies
a decree of destruction for the whole land.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 28:15 Or whip; Hb obscure, also in v. 18
  2. 28:16 Lit will not hurry
  3. 28:19 Or The understanding of the message will cause sheer terror

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