| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Woe 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! | 1Woe 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! |
| 2Behold, 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. | 2See, 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. |
| 3The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. | 3That wreath, the pride of Ephraim's drunkards, will be trampled underfoot. |
| 4And 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. | 4That 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. |
| 5In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; | 5In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people. |
| 6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate. | 6He 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. |
| 7And 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. | 7And 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. |
| 8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place. | 8All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth. |
| 9"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? | 9"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? |
| 10"For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'" | 10For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there." |
| 11Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, | 11Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, |
| 12He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not listen. | 12to whom he said, "This is the resting place, let the weary rest"; and, "This is the place of repose"-- but they would not listen. |
| 13So 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. | 13So 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. |
| 14Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, | 14Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. |
| 15Because 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." | 15You 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." |
| 16Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. | 16So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. |
| 17"I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place. | 17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. |
| 18"Your covenant with death will be canceled, And your pact with Sheol will not stand; When the overwhelming scourge passes through, Then you become its trampling place. | 18Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it. |
| 19"As often as it passes through, it will seize you; For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night, And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means." | 19As often as it comes it will carry you away; morning after morning, by day and by night, it will sweep through." The understanding of this message will bring sheer terror. |
| 20The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in. | 20The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you. |
| 21For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work. | 21The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon-- to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task. |
| 22And now do not carry on as scoffers, Or your fetters will be made stronger; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts Of decisive destruction on all the earth. | 22Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the LORD Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land. |
| 23Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words. | 23Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. |
| 24Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground? | 24When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil? |
| 25Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter cummin And plant wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its area? | 25When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field? |
| 26For his God instructs and teaches him properly. | 26His God instructs him and teaches him the right way. |
| 27For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club. | 27Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is the wheel of a cart rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick. |
| 28Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer. | 28Grain must be ground to make bread; so one does not go on threshing it forever. The wheels of a threshing cart may be rolled over it, but one does not use horses to grind grain. |
| 29This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great. | 29All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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