Isaiah 28 Parallel Bible Translations

Isaiah 28 ▼
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1 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. 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! 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!
2 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. 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. 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.
3 The proud city of Samaria— the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel— will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet. The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot; That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards, will be trampled underfoot.
4 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. 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. 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.
5 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. In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people, In that day the LORD Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people.
6 He will give a longing for justice to their judges. He will give great courage to their warriors who stand at the gates. and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 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.
7 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. 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. 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.
8 Their tables are covered with vomit; filth is everywhere. For all tables are full of filthy vomit, with no space left. All the tables are covered with vomit and there is not a spot without filth.
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? “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? “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 He tells us everything over and over— one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there!” For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.” For it is: Do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that; a little here, a little there.”
11 So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! For by people of strange lips and with a foreign tongue the LORD will speak to this people, Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people,
12 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. to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear. 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.
13 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. 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. 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.
14 Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD, you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem. Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 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.” 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”; 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.”
16 Therefore, 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. therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ So 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 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. And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.” I 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 I 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. Then your covenant with death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it. Your 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 Again 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. As often as it passes through it will take you; for morning by morning it will pass through, by day and by night; and it will be sheer terror to understand the message. As 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.
20 The bed you have made is too short to lie on. The blankets are too narrow to cover you. For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on, and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in. The bed is too short to stretch out on, the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21 The 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: For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed—strange is his deed! and to work his work—alien is his work! The 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.
22 For 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. Now therefore do not scoff, lest your bonds be made strong; for I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. Now 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.
23 Listen to me; listen, and pay close attention. Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.
24 Does a farmer always plow and never sow? Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting? Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25 Does 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? When he has leveled its surface, does he not scatter dill, sow cumin, and put in wheat in rows and barley in its proper place, and emmer as the border? When 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?
26 The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.
27 A 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. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod. Caraway 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.
28 Grain 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. Does one crush grain for bread? No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. Grain 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.
29 The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. All this also comes from the LORD Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent.
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