Isaiah 28:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it.

NIV: Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain.

NASB: Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

CSB: Bread grain is crushed, but is not threshed endlessly. Though the wheel of the farmer’s cart rumbles, his horses do not crush it.

NLT: Grain for bread is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn’t pulverize it.

KJV: Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.

NKJV: Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen.

This continues the analogy Isaiah is making about farming (Isaiah 28:24–27). The farmer knows not to thresh the tiny spices like dill and cumin in the same way he threshes the grains like wheat and barley. The point is not to crush the part of the food that is edible and useful; it is to separate the useful from the useless.

The farmer does not crush the grain or thresh it forever with his horse-drawn cart or sledge. He knows to do just enough to cause the needed separation. Some commentators understand Isaiah to be comparing a farmer's threshing of the crops to the Lord's judgment on Israel and Judah. He will "thresh" them (Isaiah 28:17–18), but not beyond the point where a remnant can be restored (Jeremiah 30:3).

John the Baptist uses a similar metaphor when talking about Jesus: "His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." (Luke 3:17). If this is Isaiah's message, it is ultimately a hopeful one. Judgment is coming on Judah, but it will not be without end, nor without purpose.

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).