Isaiah 28
A Tried Cornerstone Laid in Zion
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Woe to the Crown of Insolence
28:1Woe to the crown of insolence, Ephraim’s hired men; the flower fallen from glory on the summit of the fertile mountain, those drunk without wine!
28:2Look, the Lord’s wrath is strong and harsh, like falling hail with no covering, falling violently. Like a great mass of water dragging a country, He will give the land rest with His hands.
28:3Underfoot will be trampled the crown of insolence, Ephraim’s hired men.
28:4The flower fallen from the hope of glory, on the high mountain’s summit, will be like an early fig: whoever sees it will want to swallow it before taking it into his hand.
28:5On that day the Lord Sabaoth will be the crown of hope, woven of glory, for My people who remain;
28:6they will be left with a spirit of judgment, for judgment and strength, as He prevents destruction.
28:7For these have been led astray by wine and wandered because of sikera. Priest and prophet lost their senses because of wine, reeled from sikera’s intoxication and went astray. This is an apparition.
28:8A curse will consume this counsel, for this counsel is for greed.
Affliction upon Affliction, Hope upon Hope
28:9To whom did we announce evils, and to whom did we announce a message—you weaned from milk, torn from a breast?
28:10Expect affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope, yet a little, yet a little,
28:11because of contemptuous lips, through another tongue, for they will speak to this people,
28:12saying to it, “This is the rest for the hungry, and this is the shattering.” But they did not want to listen.
28:13The utterance of the Lord God will become for them affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope, yet a little, yet a little, so that they go and fall backward, come into danger, be shattered and captured.
Hear the Lord’s Word, Afflicted Men
28:14Therefore hear the Lord’s word, afflicted men and rulers of this people in Jerusalem:
28:15Because you said, “We made a covenant with Hades and agreements with death; if a rushing storm passes, it will certainly not come upon us. We made falsehood our hope and will be sheltered by deceit,”
28:16therefore thus says the Lord: “Look, I will place in Zion’s foundations a costly, chosen, precious cornerstone, in her foundations, and whoever trusts in it will certainly not be ashamed.
28:17I will make judgment a hope, and My mercy will be weights; those trusting deceit do so in vain, for a storm will certainly not pass you by—
28:18might it also remove your covenant with death? Your hope toward Hades will certainly not remain. If a rushing storm comes, you will become its trampling ground.
28:19When it passes, it will take you; morning after morning it will pass during the day, and at night there will be evil hope. Learn to listen!
28:20Cramped, we cannot fight, and we ourselves are too weak to be gathered.
The Strange Work of Wrath
28:21Like a mountain of ungodly people he will rise and be in Gabaon’s ravine. With wrath he will do his deeds, a work of bitterness; his wrath will act strangely, and his bitterness is foreign.”
28:22And you, do not rejoice, nor let your bonds grow stronger, because I heard from the Lord Sabaoth completed and shortened deeds, which He will do upon all the earth.
28:23Give ear and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my words.
28:24Will the plowman plow all day? Or will he prepare seed before working the ground?
The Wisdom of the Farmer
28:25When he has leveled its surface, does he not then sow a little black cumin and cumin, and again sow wheat, barley and emmer within your borders?
28:26You will be disciplined by your God’s judgment and will rejoice.
28:27For black cumin is not cleaned with harshness, nor will a wagon wheel roll over cumin; black cumin is shaken out with a rod, but cumin
28:28will be eaten with bread. For I will not be angry with you forever, nor will the sound of My bitterness trample you.
28:29These wonders too came from the Lord Sabaoth. Take counsel; raise up futile consolation!
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.