Isaiah 28:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then 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.

NIV: Your 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.

NASB: Your 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.

CSB: 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.

NLT: I 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.

KJV: And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

NKJV: Your 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.

The leaders of Jerusalem and Judah have built on the wrong foundation in anticipation of the coming storm. That storm is the seemingly unstoppable Assyrian war machine, wiping out one nation after another. Struggling to protect themselves, Judah has only made a covenant with death (Isaiah 28:14–15). Most commentators believe Isaiah means that they have made an alliance with Egypt to help save them from the Assyrians (Isaiah 30:1–2). Since that alliance will fail to save them, it is a covenant with "Sheol:" the land of the dead. Judah has built their protection from the storm on the sand of a worthless agreement.

Judah could have found protection on the perfect footing which He had already laid for them (Isaiah 28:16–17). Since they rejected that option, they will learn how worthless their covenant with the Egyptians truly is. It will be like a marriage contract annulled on the day of the wedding, leaving the bride with no prospects. Then the Assyrian war machine will come overwhelming the entire land like a flood that beats down all the crops, destroying everything in its path. Worse, this punishment will come repeatedly (Isaiah 28:19).

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).