Isaiah 28:1-29

Woe to the pride of Israel’s drunkards, worn like a garland on their heads! Their glory is but wilted flowers, worn like a crown on the heads of those bloated with rich food and overcome by wine. Behold! The Lord has one who is strong and mighty, and he will come like a hailstorm and like a destroying wind! With a storm of massive, flooding waters, his mighty power will knock it to the ground. That proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trampled underfoot, and the glory of these proud leaders will fade and disappear like the first figs of the season, which are picked and eaten as soon as they are ripe. In that day, Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, will be a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty for the remnant of his people. He will be a Spirit of justice for judges to render right decisions. And he will be strength and bravery for those who turn back the battle at the gate. Moreover, the prophets and priests are drunk. They stagger because of wine and stumble around because of strong drink. They are confused with wine, stumbling because of strong drink. They’re too drunk to understand their prophetic visions. They’re too drunk to render right decisions in judgment. All of their banqueting tables are covered with filthy vomit; vomit is everywhere! They say, “Who does this prophet think he is to try to teach us? Who really cares about his message? It’s only good for babies just learning to talk. Do, do this, and do, do that, a rule about this and a rule about that, here a little, there a little.” Since they won’t listen to me, God will use another mouthpiece to speak to them. With stammering lips and in a foreign language, he will speak to this people. For he has said to them, “This is your rest, so let the weary rest; this is your comfort”—but they would not listen. Therefore, the word of YAHWEH will be to them “Do, do this, and do, do that, a rule about this and a rule about that, here a little, there a little,” in order that they will stumble backward and be broken and captured. Therefore, listen to the word of YAHWEH, you scornful jesters—rulers of Jerusalem. For you have said, “We have made a covenant with death and a pact with the underworld, so when the overwhelming scourge sweeps over us, it will not harm us. For we have made lies our refuge and found our shelter in falsehood.” Here’s what the Lord God says: “Behold, I set in place in Zion a Foundation Stone, fully tested and proven to be faithful and secure. And written upon this precious cornerstone is this: ‘Those who trust in him will not act in haste.’ I will set justice as the true measurement and integrity as its plumb line. My hailstorm will sweep away your refuge of lies, and my floodwaters will overwhelm your hiding place. Then your covenant with death will be annulled and your pact with the underworld will not stand. And when the overwhelming scourge sweeps over you, it will sweep you away! As often as disaster passes by, it will carry you away; morning by morning, day after day, it will sweep you away!” When you fully understand this message, it will bring nothing but terror to you! Your bed is too short to stretch yourself out on, and your covering is too narrow to wrap yourself in. The Lord YAHWEH will suddenly arise as on Mount Perazim and in the valley of Gibeon. He arises to accomplish his strange work—peculiar as it is— his strange work of judgment. So do not mock, or your bonds will grow tighter. For I have heard the decree from my Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. He spoke a decree of destruction against the whole land. Hear my voice, listen to my words, and pay close attention to my parable. Does a farmer plow continually at planting time and never plant a crop? Does he continually break open the clods of the ground and never sow his seed? Once he has leveled its surface, does he not sow dill and cumin, planting his wheat in rows, his barley in its proper place, and his rye in a patch? Yes, his God has instructed him and taught him the right way of farming the land. Dill, a small seed, is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a wagon wheel rolled over cumin. Dill is beaten with a rod and cumin with a stick. Grain is crushed and milled for bread, but it is not threshed endlessly. One drives the wagon’s wheels over it, but his horses’ hooves do not pulverize it. This counsel also comes from Lord YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. For his guidance is unfathomable, and the heavenly wisdom he imparts is magnificent.