Woe to Samaria
and to the fading flower of its beautiful splendor,
which is on the summit above the rich valley.
Woe to those overcome with wine.
like a devastating hail storm,
like a storm with strong flooding water.
He will bring it across the land with his hand.
3The majestic crown of Ephraim’s drunkards
will be trampled underfoot.
4The fading flower of his beautiful splendor,
which is on the summit above the rich valley,
Whoever sees it will swallow it
while it is still in his hand.
5On that day
the Lord of Armies will become a crown of beauty
and a diadem of splendor28:5 Is 62:3
to the remnant of his people,
6a spirit of justice
and strength
to those who repel attacks at the city gate.
7Even these stagger because of wine
and stumble under the influence of beer:
Priest and prophet stagger because of beer.
They stumble because of beer.
They are muddled in their visions.
They stumble in their judgments.
8Indeed, all their tables are covered with vomit;
there is no place without a stench.
9Who is he trying to teach?
Who is he trying to instruct?
Infants28:9 Lit Those just weaned from milk?
Babies28:9 Lit Those removed from the breast?
10“Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there.”28:10 Hb obscure, also in v. 13
11For he will speak to this people
with stammering speech
and in a foreign language.28:11–12 Is 5:26–29; 33:19; 1Co 14:21
12He had said to them,
“This is the place of rest;
let the weary rest;28:12 Is 11:10; 30:15; 32:17–18; Jr 6:16; Mt 11:28–29
this is the place of repose.”
But they would not listen.
13The word of the Lord will come to them:
“Law after law, law after law,
line after line, line after line,
a little here, a little there,”
so they go stumbling backward,
A Deal with Death
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death,
and we have an agreement with Sheol;
when the overwhelming catastrophe28:15 Or whip; Hb obscure, also in v. 18 passes through,28:15 Is 8:7–8
it will not touch us,
because we have made falsehood our refuge
and have hidden behind treachery.”
16Therefore the Lord God said:
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;28:16 Mt 21:42; Mk 12:10; Lk 20:17; Ac 4:11; 1Co 3:11; Eph 2:20
17And I will make justice the measuring line
Hail will sweep away the false refuge,
and water will flood your hiding place.
18Your covenant with Death will be dissolved,
and your agreement with Sheol will not last.
When the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,
you will be trampled.
19Every time it passes through,
it will carry you away;
it will pass through every morning —
every day and every night.
to understand the message.28:19 Or The understanding of the message will cause sheer terror
20Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on,
and its cover too small to wrap up in.
to do his work, his unexpected work,
and to perform his task, his unfamiliar task.
22So now, do not scoff,
or your shackles will become stronger.
Indeed, I have heard from the Lord God of Armies
a decree of destruction for the whole land.28:22 Is 10:22–23; Rm 9:27–28
God’s Wonderful Advice
23Listen and hear my voice.
Pay attention and hear what I say.
24Does the plowman plow every day to plant seed?
Does he continuously break up and cultivate the soil?
25When he has leveled its surface,
does he not then scatter black cumin and sow cumin?
He plants wheat in rows and barley in plots,
with spelt as their border.
26His God teaches him order;
he instructs him.
27Certainly black cumin is not threshed
with a threshing board,
and a cart wheel is not rolled over the cumin.
But black cumin is beaten out with a stick,
and cumin with a rod.
28Bread grain is crushed,
but is not threshed endlessly.
Though the wheel of the farmer’s cart rumbles,
his horses do not crush it.
29This also comes from the Lord of Armies.
He gives wondrous advice;
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