Judgment on Corrupt Rulers, Priests, and Prophets
28 Woe to the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim
and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
those overcome with wine!(A)
2 See, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong,
like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,
like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters;
with force he will hurl them down to the earth.(B)
3 Trampled under foot will be
the proud garland of the drunkards of Ephraim.(C)
4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
at the head of the fertile valley,
will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer;
whoever sees it eats it up
as soon as it comes to hand.(D)
5 On that day the Lord of hosts will be a garland of glory
and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people(E)
6 and a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment
and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.(F)
7 These also reel with wine
and stagger with strong drink;
the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink;
they are confused with wine;
they stagger with strong drink;
they err in vision;
they stumble in giving judgment.(G)
8 All tables are covered with filthy vomit;
no place is clean.(H)
9 “Whom will he teach knowledge,
and to whom will he explain the message?
Those who are weaned from milk,
those taken from the breast?(I)
10 For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.”[a](J)
11 Truly, with stammering lip
and with another tongue
he will speak to this people,(K)
12 to whom he has said,
“This is rest;
give rest to the weary,
and this is repose,”
yet they would not hear.(L)
13 Therefore the word of the Lord will be to them,
“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little,”[b]
in order that they may go and fall backward
and be broken and snared and taken.(M)
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.(N)
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
and with Sheol we have an agreement;
when the overwhelming scourge passes through
it will not come to us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;(O)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God,
“See, I am laying[c] in Zion a foundation stone,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation:
‘One who trusts will not panic.’(P)
17 And I will make justice the line
and righteousness the plummet;
hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and waters will overwhelm the shelter.(Q)
18 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.(R)
19 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.”(S)
20 For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on it,
and the covering is too narrow to wrap oneself in it.
21 For the Lord will rise up as on Mount Perazim;
he will rage as in the valley of Gibeon
to do his deed—strange is his deed!—
and to work his work—alien is his work!(T)
22 Now therefore do not scoff,
or your bonds will be made stronger,
for I have heard a decree of destruction
from the Lord God of hosts upon the whole land.(U)
23 Listen and hear my voice;
Pay attention and hear my speech.
24 Do those who plow for sowing plow continually?
Do they continually open and harrow their ground?
25 When they have leveled its surface,
do they not scatter dill, sow cumin,
and plant wheat in rows
and barley in its proper place[d]
and spelt as the border?
26 For they are well instructed;
their God teaches them.
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,
but dill is beaten out with a stick
and cumin with a rod.(V)
28 Grain is crushed for bread,
but one does not thresh it forever;
one drives the cart wheel and horses over it
but does not pulverize it.
29 This also comes from the Lord of hosts;
he is wonderful in counsel
and excellent in wisdom.(W)
Footnotes
- 28.10Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- 28.13Meaning of Heb of this verse uncertain
- 28.16Q mss Compare Syr Tg: MT he laid
- 28.25Meaning of Heb uncertain
Cross references
- 28.1 : vv 3, 4, 7
- 28.2 : Isa 29.6; 30.28, 30; 40.10; Ezek 13.11
- 28.3 : vv 1, 18
- 28.4 : Hos 9.10; Mic 7.1; Nah 3.12
- 28.5 : Isa 4.2; 41.16; 62.3
- 28.6 : Isa 11.2; 25.4; 32.15
- 28.7 : Prov 20.1; Isa 56.10, 12; Hos 4.11
- 28.8 : Jer 48.26
- 28.9 : v 26; Ps 131.2; Heb 5.12, 13
- 28.10 : Neh 9.30
- 28.11 : 1 Cor 14.21
- 28.12 : Jer 6.16; Mt 11.28, 29
- 28.13 : Mt 21.44
- 28.14 : v 22; Isa 29.20
- 28.15 : vv 2, 18; Isa 29.15; 49.3, 4
- 28.16 : Ps 118.22; Mt 21.42; Acts 4.11; Rom 9.33; 10.11; Eph 2.20; 1 Pet 2.4–6
- 28.17 : v 2; Isa 5.16
- 28.18 : v 15
- 28.19 : Ps 88.15; Isa 50.4; Jer 15.8
- 28.21 : Josh 10.10, 12; 2 Sam 5.20, 25; 1 Chr 14.11, 16; Lam 3.33
- 28.22 : v 14; Isa 10.22, 23
- 28.27 : Am 1.3
- 28.29 : Isa 9.6; 31.2; Rom 11.33