Isaiah 28:9-13
Isaiah 28:9-13 The Message (MSG)
“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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 King James Version (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. 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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 New Century Version (NCV)
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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 American Standard Version (ASV)
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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 New International Version (Anglicised) (NIVUK)
‘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 backwards; they will be injured and snared and captured.
Isaiah 28:9-13 New King James Version (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? 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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 New Living Translation (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? 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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 The Passion Translation (TPT)
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.
Isaiah 28:9-13 English Standard Version 2016 (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? 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.