Isaiah 28:1-15

Isaiah 28:1-15 The Message (MSG)

Doom to the pretentious drunks of Ephraim, shabby and washed out and seedy— Tipsy, sloppy-fat, beer-bellied parodies of a proud and handsome past. Watch closely: GOD has someone picked out, someone tough and strong to flatten them. Like a hailstorm, like a hurricane, like a flash flood, one-handed he’ll throw them to the ground. Samaria, the party hat on Israel’s head, will be knocked off with one blow. It will disappear quicker than a piece of meat tossed to a dog. At that time, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies will be the beautiful crown on the head of what’s left of his people: Energy and insights of justice to those who guide and decide, strength and prowess to those who guard and protect. These also, the priest and prophet, stagger from drink, weaving, falling-down drunks, Besotted with wine and whiskey, can’t see straight, can’t talk sense. Every table is covered with vomit. They live in vomit. “Is that so? And who do you think you are to teach us? Who are you to lord it over us? We’re not babies in diapers to be talked down to by such as you— ‘Da, da, da, da, blah, blah, blah, blah. That’s a good little girl, that’s a good little boy.’” But that’s exactly how you will be addressed. God will speak to this people In baby talk, one syllable at a time— and he’ll do it through foreign oppressors. He said before, “This is the time and place to rest, to give rest to the weary. This is the place to lay down your burden.” But they won’t listen. So GOD will start over with the simple basics and address them in baby talk, one syllable at a time— “Da, da, da, da, blah, blah, blah, blah. That’s a good little girl, that’s a good little boy.” And like toddlers, they will get up and fall down, get bruised and confused and lost. Now listen to GOD’s Message, you scoffers, you who rule this people in Jerusalem. You say, “We’ve taken out good life insurance. We’ve hedged all our bets, covered all our bases. No disaster can touch us. We’ve thought of everything. We’re advised by the experts. We’re set.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 King James Version (KJV)

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: and the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. 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. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: for with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves

Isaiah 28:1-15 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate. And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. “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? For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’ ” Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “Here is rest, give rest to the weary,” And, “Here is repose,” but they would not listen. So the word of the LORD to them will be, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there,” That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we have made a pact. The overwhelming scourge will not reach us when it passes by, For we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 New Century Version (NCV)

How terrible it will be for Samaria, the pride of Israel’s drunken people! That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant set on a hill above a rich valley where drunkards live. Look, the Lord has someone who is strong and powerful. Like a storm of hail and strong wind, like a sudden flood of water pouring over the country, he will throw Samaria down to the ground. That city, the pride of Israel’s drunken people, will be trampled underfoot. That beautiful crown of flowers is just a dying plant set on a hill above a rich valley. That city will be like the first fig of summer. Anyone who sees it quickly picks it and eats it. At that time the LORD All-Powerful will be like a beautiful crown, like a wonderful crown of flowers for his people who are left alive. Then he will give wisdom to the judges who must decide cases and strength to those who battle at the city gate. But now those leaders are drunk with wine; they stumble from drinking too much beer. The priests and prophets are drunk with beer and are filled with wine. They stumble from too much beer. The prophets are drunk when they see their visions; the judges stumble when they make their decisions. Every table is covered with vomit, so there is not a clean place anywhere. The LORD is trying to teach the people a lesson; he is trying to make them understand his teachings. But the people are like babies too old for breast milk, like those who no longer nurse at their mother’s breast. So they make fun of the LORD’s prophet and say: “A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there.” So the LORD will use strange words and foreign languages to speak to these people. God said to them, “Here is a place of rest; let the tired people come and rest. This is the place of peace.” But the people would not listen. So the words of the LORD will be, “A command here, a command there. A rule here, a rule there. A little lesson here, a little lesson there.” They will fall back and be defeated; they will be trapped and captured. So listen to the LORD’s message, you who brag, you leaders in Jerusalem. You say, “We have made an agreement with death; we have a contract with death. When terrible punishment passes by, it won’t hurt us. Our lies will keep us safe, and our tricks will hide us.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 American Standard Version (ASV)

Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest of mighty waters overflowing, will he cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot: and the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be as the first-ripe fig before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day will Jehovah of hosts become a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people; and a spirit of justice to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate. And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. Whom will he teach knowledge? and whom will he make to understand the message? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little. Nay, but by men of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to this people; to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest to him that is weary; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. Therefore shall the word of Jehovah be unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Wherefore hear the word of Jehovah, ye scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem: Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves

Isaiah 28:1-15 New International Version (NIV)

Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, to the fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley— to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine! See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground. That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. That fading flower, his glorious beauty, set on the head of a fertile valley, will be like figs ripe before harvest— as soon as people see them and take them in hand, they swallow them. In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. He will be a spirit of justice to the one who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. And these also stagger from wine and reel from beer: Priests and prophets stagger from beer and are befuddled with wine; they reel from beer, they stagger when seeing visions, they stumble when rendering decisions. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. “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? For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.” Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”— but they would not listen. So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there— so that as they go they will fall backward; they will be injured and snared and captured. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 New King James Version (NKJV)

Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, Whose glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valleys, To those who are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has a mighty and strong one, Like a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, Like a flood of mighty waters overflowing, Who will bring them down to the earth with His hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, Will be trampled underfoot; And the glorious beauty is a fading flower Which is at the head of the verdant valley, Like the first fruit before the summer, Which an observer sees; He eats it up while it is still in his hand. In that day the LORD of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. “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? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little,” That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Woe (judgment is coming) to [Samaria] the splendid crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the rich valley Of those who are overcome with wine! Listen carefully, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent [the Assyrian]; Like a tempest of hail, a disastrous storm, Like a tempest of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. The splendid crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trampled by [the foreigners’] feet. And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the rich valley, Will be like the early fig before the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand He [greedily] swallows it [and so will the Assyrians rapidly devour Samaria, Israel’s capital]. In that day the LORD of hosts will become a magnificent crown And a glorious diadem to the [converted] remnant of His people, A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment [administering the law], A strength to those who drive back the battle at the gate. But even these reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while seeing visions, They stagger when pronouncing judgment. For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, so that there is no place [that is clean.] ¶They say “To whom would He teach knowledge? And to whom would He explain the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? “For He says, ‘Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little.’ ” Indeed, the LORD will teach this people [in a more humiliating way] By [men with] stammering lips and a foreign tongue, He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,” And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen. Therefore the word of the LORD to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]: “Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Rule upon rule, rule upon rule, Here a little, there a little.” That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive. Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you arrogant men Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem! Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol (the place of the dead) we have made an agreement, When the overwhelming scourge passes by, it will not reach us, For we have made lies our refuge and we have concealed ourselves in deception.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 New Living Translation (NLT)

What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria— the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel. It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. It is the pride of a people brought down by wine. For the Lord will send a mighty army against it. Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain, they will burst upon it like a surging flood and smash it to the ground. The proud city of Samaria— the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel— will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet. It sits at the head of a fertile valley, but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower. Whoever sees it will snatch it up, as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten. Then at last the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people. He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates. Now, however, Israel is led by drunks who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol. The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol and lose themselves in wine. They reel when they see visions and stagger as they render decisions. Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere. “Who does the LORD think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned? He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen. So the LORD will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured. Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 The Passion Translation (TPT)

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.”

Isaiah 28:1-15 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong; like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest, like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters, he casts down to the earth with his hand. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot; and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand. In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are swallowed by wine, they stagger with strong drink, they reel in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left. “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? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people, to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear. And 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, that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”