Isaiah 28:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: As 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.

NIV: As 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.

NASB: As 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.'

CSB: Every 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.

NLT: Again 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.

KJV: From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

NKJV: As 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.”

Why didn't we trust the Lord instead of making a foolish alliance with Egypt? That's what Jerusalem's leaders will be asking when the Assyrian army comes pouring through Judah, destroying families and homes and entire villages. They have put their hopes in the wrong thing.

Isaiah has described Assyria's ravenous armies as a hailstorm and flood (Isaiah 28:17). These destructive events are infamous for eradicating everything they touch. But this flood won't come through just one time. It will return repeatedly, bringing more destruction. A common Assyrian practice was to return to previously conquered regions and terrorize them again. This would more thoroughly destroy any hope among the people that they might revolt or fight back.

The true terror will strike when survivors come to fully understand Isaiah's message as it plays out in real time. Only then will they be fully convinced that the Lord was right. Everything He said through Isaiah was true. But it will be too late to avoid the carnage.

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).