Isaiah 28:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: "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?

NIV: "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?

NASB: '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?

CSB: Who is he trying to teach? Who is he trying to instruct? Infants just weaned from milk? Babies removed from the breast?

NLT: 'Who does the Lord think we are?' they ask. 'Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?

KJV: Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.

NKJV: “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?

Most commentators understand this and the following verse (Isaiah 28:10) to be the words of the drunk priests and prophets in Israel. They are apparently suggesting that Isaiah is talking to them like children. They don't appreciate it. In other words, how dare he attempt to correct them for their drinking habits and their dereliction of duty?

Those in the wrong, especially those protecting a cherished habit, often don't receive correction well (Proverbs 9:7; 15:5). Instead of honestly examining themselves to see if the correction is worth listening to, they strike back with some accusation of their own. This pattern is especially true when alcohol is involved.

The law did not forbid Israel's priests from ever drinking alcohol. But it was specific about when they must not consume: "And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, 'Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses'" (Leviticus 10:8–11).

The mission given to the priests was too important to be hampered by the effects of alcohol. This was especially crucial in the tent of meeting. (Exodus 40:1–8) Teaching the people God's statutes was a critical mission requiring all their awareness and skill. During Isaiah's time, Israel's religious leaders had abandoned that duty.

Isaiah 28:1–13 poetically describes Israel's capital Samaria as a crown or wreath on the head of a beautiful valley. Its leaders, though, are drunkards, and the wilted wreath will be trampled by the hailstorm of the Lord's judgment. This comes in the form of Assyrian invaders. Then God will be the glorious crown of Israel once more. Israel's prophets and priests live in a drunken stupor, staggering, vomiting, and mocking Isaiah's warning message from the Lord. Isaiah assures them they will hear the message firsthand from foreign lips when the Lord's judgment falls on them.

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).