Isaiah 28:8-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 28
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, 12He who said to them, 'This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,' And, 'This is the resting place,' but they would not listen. 13So the word of the Lord to them will be, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,' That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive. 14Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, 15Because you have said, 'We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by, Because we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.' 16Therefore this is what the Lord God says: 'Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone, A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. The one who believes in it will not be disturbed. 17I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the secret place. 18Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the gushing flood passes through, Then you will become its trampling ground. 19As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.' 20The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in. 21For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work. 22And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your shackles will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord God of armies Of decisive destruction on all the earth. 23Listen and hear my voice, Pay attention and hear my words. 24Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?King James Version
13But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
14Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 28
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.
12He had said to them: "This is the place of rest; let the weary rest; this is the place of repose." But they would not listen.
13The word of the Lord will come to them: "Law after law, law after law, line after line, line after line, a little here, a little there," so they go stumbling backward, to be broken, trapped, and captured.
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15For you said, "We have made a covenant with Death, and we have an agreement with Sheol; when the overwhelming catastrophe passes through, it will not touch us, because we have made falsehood our refuge and have hidden behind treachery."
16Therefore the Lord God said: "Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable.
17And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason’s level." Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.
18Your covenant with Death will be dissolved, and your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through, you will be trampled.
19Every time it passes through, it will carry you away; it will pass through every morning— every day and every night. Only terror will cause you to understand the message.
20Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and its cover too small to wrap up in.
21For the Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim. He will rise in wrath, as at the Valley of Gibeon, to do his work, his unexpected work, and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
22So 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.
23Listen and hear my voice. Pay attention and hear what I say.
24Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed? Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
New Living Translation
Chapter 28
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!'
11So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
12God has told his people, 'Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.' But they would not listen.
13So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
14Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
15You boast, 'We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.'
16Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.
17I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away.
18I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground.
19Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away.' This message will bring terror to your people.
20The bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
21The Lord will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim and against the Amorites at Gibeon. He will come to do a strange thing; he will come to do an unusual deed:
22For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land. So scoff no more, or your punishment will be even greater.
English Standard Version
Chapter 28
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, 12to whom he has said, "This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose"; yet they would not hear. 13And the word of the Lord will be to 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. 14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! 15Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter"; 16therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ 17And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter." 18Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. 19As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. 20For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. 21For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed — strange is his deed! and to work his work — alien is his work! 22Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord God of hosts against the whole land. 23Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. 24Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground?New International Version
Chapter 28
8All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. 9"Who is it he is trying to teach? To whom is he explaining his message? To children weaned from their milk, to those just taken from the breast?
10For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that ; a little here, a little there."
11Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
12to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose"— but they would not listen.
13So 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— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured.
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
16So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.
17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.
18Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
19As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror.
20The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon— to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task.
22Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
23Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.
24When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
New King James Version
Chapter 28
8For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. 9“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” 11For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 12To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear. 13But the word of the Lord was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. 14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, 15Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”
16Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.
19As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report.”
20For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
21For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon— That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
22Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord God of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
23Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.
24Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
