Woe to Ephraim and Judah: Drunkenness and Judgment
Isaiah 28:1-29
1Woe to the crown of majesty of the drunken of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of its glorious beauty that is upon the head of the Valley of Oil, the ones struck down by wine.2Behold, one strong and mighty belongs to the Lord; like a hailstorm, a destroying tempest, like a mighty overflowing flood of waters, he has laid it to rest upon the land by the hand.3With feet it shall be trampled, the crown of majesty of the drunken of Ephraim.4And the fading flower of its glorious beauty that is upon the head of the Valley of Oil shall become like the first ripe fig before summer; when one who sees it sees it while it is still in his palm, he swallows it up.5In that day the LORD of Hosts shall become a crown of beauty and a diadem of glory for the remnant of his people.6And a spirit of justice for the one who sits upon the judgment, and strength for those who turn back the battle at the gate.7These also have gone astray because of wine and have wandered because of strong drink; priest and prophet have gone astray because of strong drink, have been swallowed up by wine, have wandered because of strong drink, have staggered in vision, and have stumbled in judgment.8For every table is filled with vomit; filth is without a place.9To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the report? To those weaned from milk, to those taken from the breast.10For it is command upon command, command upon command, line upon line, line upon line, a little there, a little there.11For with mocking lips and with another tongue he will speak to this people.12To whom he said, "This is the rest; give rest to the weary," and "This is the repose," yet they were unwilling to hear.13Therefore the word of the LORD shall become to them command upon command, command upon command, line upon line, line upon line, a little there, a little there, so that they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and captured.14Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you men of scorning who rule this people that is in Jerusalem.15Because you have said, "We have cut a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have made an agreement; when the overflowing whip passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made a lie our refuge and have hidden ourselves in deception."16Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am founding in Zion a stone, a testing stone, a precious cornerstone, a founded foundation; the one who believes will not hasten."17And I will set justice for a line and righteousness for a level, and hail will sweep away the refuge of a lie, and waters will overflow the hiding place.18And your covenant with death will be atoned for, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overflowing scourge passes through, you will become to it for trampling.19As 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 trembling to understand the report.20For the bed is too short for stretching out, and the covering is too narrow when one gathers oneself.21For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim; he will be roused as in the Valley at Gibeon, to do his work, his strange work, and to perform his service, his foreign service.22And now do not mock, lest your bonds be strengthened; for I have heard from the Lord GOD of Hosts a consumption and a decisive end upon all the land.23Give ear and hear my voice; pay attention and hear my word.24Does the plowman plow all the day in order to sow? Does he open and harrow his ground?25Does he not, when he has leveled its surface, scatter dill and sow cummin, and set wheat in rows and barley in its appointed place and emmer as its border?26And his God instructs him to justice; he teaches him.27For dill is not threshed with a sharp instrument, nor is the wheel of a cart turned upon cummin; but dill is beaten with a rod, and cummin with a staff.28Bread is ground, for one does not thresh it forever; though the wheel of his cart and his horses crush it, they do not grind it.29This also has come forth from the LORD of Hosts; he has made counsel wonderful; he has magnified wisdom.