Isaiah 28:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And 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."

NIV: I 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.

NASB: I 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.

CSB: And 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.

NLT: I 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.

KJV: Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

NKJV: Also 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.

Isaiah seems to have called out the rulers of Jerusalem (Isaiah 28:14–15) for making an alliance with the Egyptians to save them from the looming Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 30:1–2). Isaiah has said they have used lies as a refuge, by trusting the myth that the Egyptians will save them.

Now Isaiah quotes the Lord who laid the trustworthy cornerstone in Jerusalem (Isaiah 28:15). He alone can be trusted to save Judah. Continuing the building metaphor, the Lord says He will build on that perfect foundation using righteousness and justice as the standard against which everything else is measured. What He builds will stand. The refuge of lies—Judah trusting Egypt to save them—will be swept away by the hailstorm and flood of the Assyrian Empire (Isaiah 28:17). Anticipating the storm to come, Jerusalem's rulers were building their house on sand, not stone (Matthew 7:24–27).

Isaiah 28:14–29 describes God's warning to the leaders of Jerusalem and Judah. They are trusting what Isaiah calls "a covenant of death." They are sheltering from the coming Assyrian invasion under a "refuge of lies." Because they have not trusted the foundation the Lord has laid, He will work against His own people. Using a parable, Isaiah tells Judah's leaders to notice how the farmer follows the Lord's instructions to get the best crop.

Samaria, the capital of Israel, also called Ephraim, is the beautiful crown on the head of the rich valley below. Her leaders are proud and drunk. The Lord will send the Assyrians to trample the crown and send the people into exile. Israel's religious leaders mock Isaiah, but they will hear the Lord's message from the Assyrians. Isaiah warns Jerusalem's leaders not to mock his warning to them from the Lord about the same fate. Their covenant with death will fail. The hailstorm of the Assyrians will beat them down. The Lord's counsel is wonderful.

Isaiah 28 begins a new section following the previous four chapters about Israel's glorious future with the Lord as her king. Now, though, the Lord is sending the Assyrians to judge His own people, first in Ephraim, which is Israel, and then in Judah. The beautiful capital city of Samaria will be trampled like a wilted wreath. Israel's religious leaders mock Isaiah but will hear the Lord's message from the Assyrians themselves. Isaiah warns Jerusalem's leaders not to scoff at his message. Despite Judah's agreements with other nations, the Lord will send the overwhelming scourge to wash away their refuge of lies. The next three chapters of Isaiah (29—31) predict siege and distress for Jerusalem but also promise that God will destroy Judah's enemies and bless them if they return to Him.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).