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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Isaiah 28 NIV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/isaiah/28.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" 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href="../isaiah/27.htm" title="Isaiah 27">◄</a> Isaiah 28 <a href="../isaiah/29.htm" title="Isaiah 29">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New International Version</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/niv/esv/isaiah/28.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="sectionhead">Woe to the Leaders of Ephraim and Judah</p><div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,</p><p class="line2">to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,</p><p class="line1">set on the head of a fertile valley—</p><p class="line2">to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.</p><p class="line2">Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind,</p><p class="line1">like a driving rain and a flooding downpour,</p><p class="line2">he will throw it forcefully to the ground.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,</p><p class="line2">will be trampled underfoot.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>That fading flower, his glorious beauty,</p><p class="line2">set on the head of a fertile valley,</p><p class="line1">will be like figs ripe before harvest—</p><p class="line2">as soon as people see them and take them in hand,</p><p class="line2">they swallow them.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>In that day the <span class="name">Lord</span> Almighty</p><p class="line2">will be a glorious crown,</p><p class="line1">a beautiful wreath</p><p class="line2">for the remnant of his people.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>He will be a spirit of justice</p><p class="line2">to the one who sits in judgment,</p><p class="line1">a source of strength</p><p class="line2">to those who turn back the battle at the gate.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>And these also stagger from wine</p><p class="line2">and reel from beer:</p><p class="line1">Priests and prophets stagger from beer</p><p class="line2">and are befuddled with wine;</p><p class="line1">they reel from beer,</p><p class="line2">they stagger when seeing visions,</p><p class="line2">they stumble when rendering decisions.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>All the tables are covered with vomit</p><p class="line2">and there is not a spot without filth.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“Who is it he is trying to teach?</p><p class="line2">To whom is he explaining his message?</p><p class="line1">To children weaned from their milk,</p><p class="line2">to those just taken from the breast?</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>For it is:</p><p class="line2">Do this, do that,</p><p class="line2">a rule for this, a rule for that <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet's words); also in verse 13">a</a></sup></span> ;</p><p class="line2">a little here, a little there.”</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues</p><p class="line2">God will speak to this people,</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>to whom he said,</p><p class="line2">“This is the resting place, let the weary rest”;</p><p class="line1">and, “This is the place of repose”—</p><p class="line2">but they would not listen.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>So then, the word of the <span class="name">Lord</span> to them will become:</p><p class="line2">Do this, do that,</p><p class="line2">a rule for this, a rule for that;</p><p class="line2">a little here, a little there—</p><p class="line1">so that as they go they will fall backward;</p><p class="line2">they will be injured and snared and captured.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Therefore hear the word of the <span class="name">Lord</span>, you scoffers</p><p class="line2">who rule this people in Jerusalem.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death,</p><p class="line2">with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.</p><p class="line1">When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,</p><p class="line2">it cannot touch us,</p><p class="line1">for we have made a lie our refuge</p><p class="line2">and falsehood <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="Or false gods">b</a></sup></span> our hiding place.”</p></div> <p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>So this is what the Sovereign <span class="name">Lord</span> says:</p><div class="stanza"><p class="line1">“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,</p><p class="line2">a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;</p><p class="line1">the one who relies on it</p><p class="line2">will never be stricken with panic.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>I will make justice the measuring line</p><p class="line2">and righteousness the plumb line;</p><p class="line1">hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,</p><p class="line2">and water will overflow your hiding place.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>Your covenant with death will be annulled;</p><p class="line2">your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.</p><p class="line1">When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,</p><p class="line2">you will be beaten down by it.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>As often as it comes it will carry you away;</p><p class="line2">morning after morning, by day and by night,</p><p class="line2">it will sweep through.”</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line1">The understanding of this message</p><p class="line2">will bring sheer terror.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>The bed is too short to stretch out on,</p><p class="line2">the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>The <span class="name">Lord</span> will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,</p><p class="line2">he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon—</p><p class="line1">to do his work, his strange work,</p><p class="line2">and perform his task, his alien task.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>Now stop your mocking,</p><p class="line2">or your chains will become heavier;</p><p class="line1">the Lord, the <span class="name">Lord</span> Almighty, has told me</p><p class="line2">of the destruction decreed against the whole land.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>Listen and hear my voice;</p><p class="line2">pay attention and hear what I say.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?</p><p class="line2">Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>When he has leveled the surface,</p><p class="line2">does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?</p><p class="line1">Does he not plant wheat in its place, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.">c</a></sup></span> </p><p class="line2">barley in its plot, <span class="nivfootnote"><sup><a href="#footnotes" title="The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.">d</a></sup></span> </p><p class="line2">and spelt in its field?</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>His God instructs him</p><p class="line2">and teaches him the right way.</p></div> <div class="stanza"><p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,</p><p class="line2">nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin;</p><p class="line1">caraway is beaten out with a rod,</p><p class="line2">and cumin with a stick.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>Grain must be ground to make bread;</p><p class="line2">so one does not go on threshing it forever.</p><p class="line1">The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it,</p><p class="line2">but one does not use horses to grind grain.</p> <p class="line1"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/28-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>All this also comes from the <span class="name">Lord</span> Almighty,</p><p class="line2">whose plan is wonderful,</p><p class="line2">whose wisdom is magnificent.</p></div><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><A name="footnotes"></a><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">a</span> <span class="fnverse">10</span> <span class="footnotebot">Hebrew <i>/ sav lasav sav lasav<br />     kav lakav kav lakav</i> (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">b</span> <span class="fnverse">15</span> <span class="footnotebot">Or <i>false gods</i></span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">c</span> <span class="fnverse">25</span> <span class="footnotebot">The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span><br><span class="nivfootnotesbot">d</span> <span class="fnverse">25</span> <span class="footnotebot">The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.</span><br><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><p class="ntext"><a href="http://niv.scripturetext.com/version.htm">New International Version</a> (NIV)</p><p class="ntext2">Holy Bible, New International Version&reg, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by <a href="http://biblica.com">Biblica, Inc.</a>® Used by permission. 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