New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1What 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.

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!

2For 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.

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.

3The proud city of Samaria— the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel — will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet.

3The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot.

4It 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.

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.

5Then 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.

5In that day the LORD of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people;

6He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates.

6A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.

7Now, 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.

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.

8Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere.

8For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

9“Who does the LORD think we are?” they ask. “Why does he speak to us like this? Are we little children, just recently weaned?

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?

10He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!”

10"For He says, 'Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'"

11So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!

11Indeed, He will speak to this people Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,

12God 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.

12He who said to them, "Here is rest, give rest to the weary," And, "Here is repose," but they would not listen.

13So 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.

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.

14Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.

14Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, O scoffers, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,

15You 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.”

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."

16Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.

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.

17I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away.

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.

18I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground.

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.

19Again and again that flood will come, morning after morning, day and night, until you are carried away.” This message will bring terror to your people.

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."

20The bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you.

20The bed is too short on which to stretch out, And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.

21The LORD will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim and against the Amorites at Gibeon. He will come to do a strange thing; he will come to do an unusual deed:

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.

22For the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land. So scoff no more, or your punishment will be even greater.

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.

23Listen to me; listen, and pay close attention.

23Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

24Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?

24Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and harrow the ground?

25Does he not finally plant his seeds— black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat— each in its proper way, and each in its proper place?

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?

26The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding.

26For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

27A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin; rather, it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin; instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.

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.

28Grain for bread is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn’t pulverize it.

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.

29The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom.

29This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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