Judah Is Warned

14 Therefore, (A)hear the word of the Lord, you (B)scoffers,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a (C)covenant with death,
And with [a]Sheol we have made a [b]pact.
(D)The [c]gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
Because we have made (E)falsehood our refuge and we have (F)concealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Therefore this is what the Lord [d]God says:

(G)Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested (H)stone,
A precious cornerstone for the foundation, [e]firmly placed.
The one who believes in it will not be [f]disturbed.
17 I will make (I)justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then (J)hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your (K)covenant with death will be [g](L)canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the (M)[h]gushing flood passes through,
Then you will become its (N)trampling ground.
19 As (O)often as it passes through, it will [i]seize you;
For (P)morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
And it will be [j]sheer (Q)terror to understand [k]what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
And the (R)blanket is too [l]small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount (S)Perazim,
He will be stirred up as in the Valley of (T)Gibeon,
To do His (U)task, His [m](V)unusual task,
And to work His work, His [n]extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as (W)scoffers,
Or your shackles will be made stronger;
For I have heard from the Lord [o]God of armies
Of decisive (X)destruction on all the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 28:15 I.e., the netherworld
  2. Isaiah 28:15 As in some ancient versions; MT seer
  3. Isaiah 28:15 Or overwhelming scourge
  4. Isaiah 28:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Isaiah 28:16 Lit well-laid
  6. Isaiah 28:16 Lit in a hurry
  7. Isaiah 28:18 Lit covered over
  8. Isaiah 28:18 Or overwhelming scourge
  9. Isaiah 28:19 Lit take
  10. Isaiah 28:19 Lit only
  11. Isaiah 28:19 Lit the report; or the message
  12. Isaiah 28:20 Lit narrow
  13. Isaiah 28:21 Lit task is strange
  14. Isaiah 28:21 Lit work is foreign
  15. Isaiah 28:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

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