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28. Woe to Ephraim

¹ 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 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 That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,
   will be trampled underfoot.
⁴ 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 In that day the LORD Almighty
   will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath
   for the remnant of his people.
⁶ 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 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 All the tables are covered with vomit
   and there is not a spot without filth.

    ⁹ “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 For it is:
   Do this, do that,
   a rule for this, a rule for that Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13;
   a little here, a little there.”

    ¹¹ Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
   God will speak to this people,
¹² 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 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 hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers
   who rule this people in Jerusalem.
¹⁵ 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 Or false gods our hiding place.”

¹⁶ 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 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 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 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 is too short to stretch out on,
   the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
²¹ 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 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 and hear my voice;
   pay attention and hear what I say.
²⁴ When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually?
   Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
²⁵ When he has leveled the surface,
   does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place, The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
   barley in its plot, The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
   and spelt in its field?
²⁶ His God instructs him
   and teaches him the right way.

    ²⁷ 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 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 All this also comes from the LORD Almighty,
   whose plan is wonderful,
   whose wisdom is magnificent.

22. Now therefore. He again reminds those wicked men, whom he had formerly called “scorners,” (verse 14,) that their cunning, and contempt, and jeers, and mockery, will avail them nothing, because all their ingenuity will be thwarted; and he exhorts them to repentance, if there still be any of them that are capable of being cured. For this reason he repeats the same threatenings, in order to arouse them.

Lest your chains be more firmly fastened. He says that all that they will gain by resistance will be to draw themselves more firmly into their nets. Instead of “chains,” there are some who render מוסרים (mōsĕrīm) “chastisements;” but this does not agree with the context. The metaphor of “chains” is highly appropriate in this passage; for, as the fox which has fallen into a snare, fastens the knot more firmly by his attempts to extricate himself and escape, so wicked men by their disobedience entangle and fasten themselves more and more. They desire to escape the hand of God, and kick against the spur, like an unruly horse which bends all its strength to shake of its rider; but all that they accomplish by their obstinacy and stubbornness is to receive heavier and severer blows.

Be ye not mockers. This shews us how we ought to deal with wicked men, when we see that they are altogether destitute of the fear of God. All that remains for us to do is, to warn them that their jeers and scorn will be attended by no success in resisting the vengeance of God which hangs over them. We are also reminded that we ought not to sport with God, since we see, as in a mirror, what has been the end of those who despised the warnings and threatenings of the prophets since the beginning of the world.

For I have heard a consumption. That his prediction may be firmly believed, he declares that he brings nothing forward which God did not reveal. כלה (chālāh) sometimes signifies “perfection,” and sometimes “consumption,” as we formerly stated ²⁴⁰²⁴⁰ {Bogus footnote} (Isaiah 10:23.) Here it must denote “consumption,” for the Prophet means nothing else than that God has determined speedily to destroy the whole earth by a general slaughter. This includes two things; first, that dreadful and grievous destruction is about to overtake the world, (unless it be thought better to limit the word “earth” to Judea, to which I do not object,) and, secondly, that the day is fixed and is not distant. The word hearing is here used to denote Revelation. He says that it has been made known to him; for, as the Lord determined to make use of the ministry of the prophets, so he revealed to them his secrets, that they might be, as it were, interpreters of them.

Upon the whole earth. As if he had said, “The whole world abounds with shocking impiety, reprobate men have grown wanton in their wickedness, as if there would be no judgment of God; but throughout the whole world, or in every part of Judea, God will shew that he is judge and avenger, and not a corner of the earth will be exempted from troubles and calamities, because they have despised the word.” Now, although these things were revealed in the age of Isaiah, yet they belong not less to other times, in which God shews that he is always like himself, and is wont to execute his judgments by the same method and rule. ²⁴¹²⁴¹ {Bogus footnote}