> [[isaiah-27|← Previous]] | [[isaiah-00|TOC]] | [[isaiah-29|Next →]] --- # Isaiah, Chapter 28 ## Chapter 28 ### The Fate of Samaria 1 Ah! majestic garland ^isaiah-28-1 of the drunkards of Ephraim, Fading blooms of his glorious beauty, at the head of the fertile valley, upon those stupefied with wine. 2 See, the LORD has a strong one, a mighty one, ^isaiah-28-2 who, like an onslaught of hail, a destructive storm, Like a flood of water, great and overflowing, levels to the ground with violence; 3 With feet that will trample ^isaiah-28-3 the majestic garland of the drunkards of Ephraim. 4 The fading blooms of his glorious beauty ^isaiah-28-4 at the head of the fertile valley Will be like an early fig before summer: whoever sees it, swallows it as soon as it is in hand. 5 On that day the LORD of hosts ^isaiah-28-5 will be a glorious crown And a brilliant diadem for the remnant of his people, 6 A spirit of judgment ^isaiah-28-6 for the one who sits in judgment, And strength for those who turn back the battle at the gate. ### Against Judah 7 But these also stagger from wine ^isaiah-28-7 and stumble from strong drink: Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, overpowered by wine; They are confused by strong drink, they stagger in their visions, they totter when giving judgment. 8 Yes, all the tables ^isaiah-28-8 are covered with vomit, with filth, and no place left clean. 9 “To whom would he impart knowledge? ^isaiah-28-9 To whom would he convey the message? To those just weaned from milk, those weaned from the breast? 10 For he says, ^isaiah-28-10 ‘Command on command, command on command, rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!’” 11 Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language ^isaiah-28-11 he will speak to this people, 12 to whom he said: ^isaiah-28-12 “This is the resting place, give rest to the weary; And this is the place of repose”— but they refused to hear. 13 So for them the word of the LORD shall be: ^isaiah-28-13 “Command on command, command on command, Rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!” So that when they walk, they shall stumble backward, broken, ensnared, and captured. 14 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, ^isaiah-28-14 who rule this people in Jerusalem: 15 You have declared, “We have made a covenant with death, ^isaiah-28-15 with Sheol we have made a pact; When the raging flood passes through, it will not reach us; For we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,”— 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord G OD: ^isaiah-28-16 See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; whoever puts faith in it will not waver. 17 I will make judgment a measuring line, ^isaiah-28-17 and justice a level.— Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters shall flood the hiding place. 18 Your covenant with death shall be canceled ^isaiah-28-18 and your pact with Sheol shall not stand. When the raging flood passes through, you shall be beaten down by it. 19 Whenever it passes, it shall seize you; ^isaiah-28-19 morning after morning it shall pass, by day and by night. Sheer terror to impart the message! 20 For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in, ^isaiah-28-20 and the cover too narrow to wrap in. 21 For the LORD shall rise up as on Mount Perazim, ^isaiah-28-21 bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, To carry out his work—strange his work! to perform his deed—alien his deed! 22 Now, cease scoffing, ^isaiah-28-22 lest your bonds be tightened, For I have heard a decree of destruction from the Lord, the G OD of hosts, for the whole land. ### The Parable of the Farmer 23 Give ear and hear my voice, ^isaiah-28-23 pay attention and hear my word: 24 Is the plowman forever plowing in order to sow, ^isaiah-28-24 always loosening and harrowing the field? 25 When he has leveled the surface, ^isaiah-28-25 does he not scatter caraway and sow cumin, Put in wheat and barley, with spelt as its border? 26 His God has taught him this rule, ^isaiah-28-26 he has instructed him. 27 For caraway is not threshed with a sledge, ^isaiah-28-27 nor does a cartwheel roll over cumin. But caraway is beaten out with a staff, and cumin with a rod. 28 Grain is crushed for bread, but not forever; ^isaiah-28-28 though he thresh it thoroughly, and drive his cartwheel and horses over it, he does not pulverize it. 29 This too comes from the LORD of hosts; ^isaiah-28-29 wonderful is his counsel and great his wisdom. \* (28:1] – [6) These verses once constituted an independent oracle against the Northern Kingdom, probably originally spoken during the time between its overthrow by Assyria in 732 and its destruction in 722/721. Isaiah has reused them as an introduction to his oracle against Judah (vv. [7] – [22]), because the leaders of Judah were guilty of the same excesses that had once marked Ephraim’s leadership. \* (28:1) Ephraim: the Northern Kingdom. Its capital, Samaria, was built upon a hill, suggestive of a majestic garland adorning a human head. The characterization of the leadership of Ephraim as drunken underscores its inattention to justice and good government (cf. [5:11] – [13]; [Am 6:1] – [6]). \* (28:2) A strong one, a mighty one: Assyria (cf. [8:7] – [8]). \* (28:9] – [10) The words of those who ridicule Isaiah. The Hebrew of v. [10], by its very sound, conveys the idea of mocking imitation of what the prophet says, as though he spoke like a stammering child: “sau lasau, sau lasau, kau lakau, kau lakau, ze’er sham, ze’er sham.” But in v. [13] God repeats these words in deadly earnest, putting them in the mouth of the victorious Assyrian army. \* (28:11) God will answer the mockers and defend Isaiah. Strange language: spoken by the invading army. \* (28:14) Who rule: there is a play on words; the same expression could also mean, “Proverb makers,” that is, scoffers of this people. \* (28:15], [18) A covenant with death, with Sheol: an alliance with foreign powers, such as Egypt and Babylon. Have made lies…a hiding place: this confidence in human aid will prove to be false and deceitful, incapable of averting the dreaded disaster. Raging flood: the Assyrian invasion; cf. [8:7] – [8]. \* (28:16) A stone in Zion: the true and sure foundation of salvation, i.e., the presence of God, who had chosen and founded Zion as his city ([Ps 78:68] – [69]; [[isaiah-14|Is 14]]:32) and had chosen the Davidic dynasty to rule over his people ([Ps 78:70] – [72]; [Is 9:1] – [6]; [11:1] – [10]). Cornerstone: the assurance of salvation, rejected by the people of Judah in the prophet’s time, is picked up in [Ps 118:22] and later applied to Christ; cf. ([[matthew-21|Mt 21]]:42]; ([[luke-20|Lk 20]]:17]; ([[acts-of-the-apostles-04|Acts 4]]:11]; [Rom 9:33]; [1 Pt 2:7]. Chapters [28] – [31] alternate between threats of the danger of rebelling against Assyria (with implied trust in Egypt) with assurances of the power and protection of the Lord. \* (28:17) Line…level: instruments used in constructing a building, to keep it true. They are used metaphorically here to refer to the qualities that Zion, the city of God, must manifest, judgment and justice, not bloodshed ([Mi 3:10]), nor deceit and violence, which would result in a bulging unstable wall doomed to destruction ([Is 30:12] – [14]). Cf. ([[1-corinthians-03|1 Cor 3]]:10] – [17]. \* (28:21) Mount Perazim…Valley of Gibeon: where David defeated the Philistines; cf. [2 Sm 5:20], [25]; [[1-chronicles-14|1 Chr 14]]:11, [16]. God’s new work will be strange, because instead of fighting for Judah as the Lord did in David’s time, God will now fight against Jerusalem (see [29:1] – [4]). \* (28:23] – [29) The practical variation of the farmer’s work reflects the way God deals with his people, wisely adapted to circumstances; he does not altogether crush them in their weakness. \* (28:25) Caraway…cumin: herbs used in seasoning food. Spelt: a variety of wheat. a. (28:1) [Hos 7:5]; [Am 6:1] – [6]. b. (28:2) [Is 25:4] – [5]; [28:17] – [18]; [30:30]. c. (28:4) [[isaiah-17|Is 17]]:6; [Na 3:12]. d. (28:7) [Is 5:11] – [12]; [Mi 2:11]. e. (28:11) [Jer 5:15]; [1 Cor 14:21]; [Dt 28:49]; ([[baruch-04|Bar 4]]:15]. f. (28:12) [Is 30:9]. g. (28:13) [Is 8:15]. h. (28:14) [Is 3:1] – [4]; [5:18] – [21]. i. (28:15) ([[wisdom-01|Wis 1]]:16]; [Jer 5:12]. j. (28:16) [Ps 118:22]; ([[matthew-21|Mt 21]]:42]; ([[acts-of-the-apostles-04|Acts 4]]:11]; [Rom 9:33]; [1 Pt 2:6]. k. (28:18) [Is 28:2] – [3]. l. (28:22) [Is 5:18] – [19]; [10:23]. m. (28:29) [Rom 11:33]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[isaiah-27|← Previous]] | [[isaiah-00|TOC]] | [[isaiah-29|Next →]]