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The Blue Letter Bible

Isaiah 28 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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A Message about Samaria
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:1 - What sorrow awaits the proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel.[fn]
It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
It is the pride of a people
brought down by wine.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:2 - For the Lord will send a mighty army against it.
Like a mighty hailstorm and a torrential rain,
they will burst upon it like a surging flood
and smash it to the ground.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:3 - The proud city of Samaria—
the glorious crown of the drunks of Israel[fn]
will be trampled beneath its enemies’ feet.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:4 - It sits at the head of a fertile valley,
but its glorious beauty will fade like a flower.
Whoever sees it will snatch it up,
as an early fig is quickly picked and eaten.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:5 - Then at last the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
will himself be Israel’s glorious crown.
He will be the pride and joy
of the remnant of his people.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:6 - He will give a longing for justice
to their judges.
He will give great courage
to their warriors who stand at the gates.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:7 - Now, however, Israel is led by drunks
who reel with wine and stagger with alcohol.
The priests and prophets stagger with alcohol
and lose themselves in wine.
They reel when they see visions
and stagger as they render decisions.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:8 - Their tables are covered with vomit;
filth is everywhere.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:9 - “Who does the LORD think we are?” they ask.
“Why does he speak to us like this?
Are we little children,
just recently weaned?
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:10 - He tells us everything over and over—
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there!”
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:11 - So now God will have to speak to his people
through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language!
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:12 - God has told his people,
“Here is a place of rest;
let the weary rest here.
This is a place of quiet rest.”
But they would not listen.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:13 - So the LORD will spell out his message for them again,
one line at a time,
one line at a time,
a little here,
and a little there,
so that they will stumble and fall.
They will be injured, trapped, and captured.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:14 - Therefore, listen to this message from the LORD,
you scoffing rulers in Jerusalem.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:15 - You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
and have made a deal to dodge the grave.[fn]
The coming destruction can never touch us,
for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:16 - Therefore, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,[fn]
a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
Whoever believes need never be shaken.[fn]
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:17 - I will test you with the measuring line of justice
and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
a flood will sweep it away.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:18 - I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
you will be trampled into the ground.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:19 - Again and again that flood will come,
morning after morning,
day and night,
until you are carried away.”
This message will bring terror to your people.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:20 - The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:21 - The LORD will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
he will come to do an unusual deed:
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:22 - For the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies,
has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
or your punishment will be even greater.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:23 - Listen to me;
listen, and pay close attention.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:24 - Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:25 - Does he not finally plant his seeds—
black cumin, cumin, wheat, barley, and emmer wheat—
each in its proper way,
and each in its proper place?
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:26 - The farmer knows just what to do,
for God has given him understanding.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:27 - A heavy sledge is never used to thresh black cumin;
rather, it is beaten with a light stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cumin;
instead, it is beaten lightly with a flail.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:28 - Grain for bread is easily crushed,
so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
He threshes it under the wheels of a cart,
but he doesn’t pulverize it.
Unchecked Copy BoxIsa 28:29 - The LORD of Heaven’s Armies is a wonderful teacher,
and he gives the farmer great wisdom.
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew What sorrow awaits the crowning glory of the drunks of Ephraim, referring to Samaria, capital of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Hebrew The crowning glory of the drunks of Ephraim; see note on 28:1.
Hebrew Sheol; also in 28:18.
Hebrew in Zion.
Greek version reads Look! I am placing a stone in the foundation of Jerusalem [literally Zion], / a precious cornerstone for its foundation, chosen for great honor. / Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Compare Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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