Isaiah 28:1-11
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 28
1Woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! 2Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand. 3The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot. 4And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. 5On that day the Lord of armies will become a beautiful crown And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people; 6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate. 7And these also reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink: The priest and the prophet reel with intoxicating drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from intoxicating drink; They reel while having visions, They stagger when rendering a verdict. 8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. 9'To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? 10For He says, ‘ Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’?' 11Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,King James Version
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 28
1Woe to the majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards, and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley. Woe to those overcome with wine. 2Look, the Lord has a strong and mighty one — like a devastating hail storm, like a storm with strong flooding water. He will bring it across the land with his hand. 3The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards will be trampled underfoot. 4The fading flower of his beautiful splendor, which is on the summit above the rich valley, will be like a ripe fig before the summer harvest. Whoever sees it will swallow it while it is still in his hand. 5On that day the Lord of Armies will become a crown of beauty and a diadem of splendor to the remnant of his people,
6a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, and strength to those who repel attacks at the city gate.
7Even these stagger because of wine and stumble under the influence of beer: priest and prophet stagger because of beer, they are confused by wine. They stumble because of beer, they are muddled in their visions, they stumble in their judgments.
8Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit; there is no place without a stench.
9Who is he trying to teach? Who is he trying to instruct? Infants just weaned from milk? Babies removed from the breast?
10"Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there."
11For he will speak to this people with stammering speech and in a foreign language.
New Living Translation
Chapter 28
1What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria — the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel. It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. It is the pride of a people brought down by wine. 2For the Lord will send a mighty army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it like a surging flood and smash it to the ground. 3The proud city of Samaria — the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel — will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet. 4It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. Whoever sees it will snatch it up, as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten.
5Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people.
6He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates.
7Now, however, Israel is led by drunks who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol. The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol and lose themselves in wine. They reel when they see visions and stagger as they render decisions.
8Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere.
9'Who does the Lord think we are?' they ask. 'Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?
10He tells us everything over and over — one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!'
English Standard Version
Chapter 28
1Ah, 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! 2Behold, 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. 3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot; 4 and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand. 5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, 6and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7 These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. 8For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left. 9 "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? 10For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little." 11 For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the Lord will speak to this people,New International Version
Chapter 28
1Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley— to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! 2See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. 3That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
4That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like figs ripe before harvest— as soon as people see them and take them in hand, they swallow them.
5In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.
6He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions.
New King James Version
