Isaiah 28

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Woe to the majestic garland of the drunkard Ephraim, To the fading blooms of his glorious beauty, on the head of him who is stupefied with wine.	1 Woe to the crown of arrogance, to the inebriated of Ephraim, and to the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, to those who were at the top of the very fat valley, staggering from wine.
2 Behold, the LORD has a strong one and a mighty, who, like a downpour of hail, a destructive storm, Like a flood of water, great and overflowing, levels to the ground with violence;	2 Behold, the Lord is powerful and steadfast, like a storm of hail, like a crushing whirlwind, like the force of many waters, inundating, sent forth over a spacious land.
3 With feet that will trample the majestic garland of the drunkard Ephraim.	3 The arrogant crown of the inebriated of Ephraim will be trampled under foot.
4 The fading blooms of his glorious beauty on the head of the fertile valley Will be like an early fig before summer: when a man sees it, he picks and swallows it at once.	4 And the falling flower, the glory of his exultation, who is at the summit of the fat valley, will be like a premature fruit before the ripeness of autumn, which, when the onlooker beholds it, as soon he takes it in his hand, he will devour it.
5 On that day the LORD of hosts will be a glorious crown And a brilliant diadem to the remnant of his people,	5 In that day, the Lord of hosts will be the crown of glory and the wreath of exultation for the remnant of his people.
6 A spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.	6 And he will be the spirit of judgment for those who sit in judgment, and the strength of those who return from war to the gates.
7 But these also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priest and prophet stagger from strong drink, overpowered by wine; Led astray by strong drink, staggering in their visions, tottering when giving judgment.	7 Yet truly, these also have been ignorant due to wine, and they have gone astray due to inebriation. The priest and the prophet have been ignorant because of inebriation. They have been absorbed by wine. They have staggered in drunkenness. They have not known the One who sees. They have been ignorant of judgment.
8 Yes, all the tables are covered with filthy vomit, with no place left clean.	8 For all the tables have been filled with vomit and filth, so much so that there was no place left.
9 "To whom would he impart knowledge? To whom would he convey the message? To those just weaned from milk, those taken from the breast?	9 To whom will he teach knowledge? And to whom will he grant an understanding of what is heard? To those who have been weaned from the milk, who have been pulled away from the breasts.
10 For he says, 'Command on command, command on command, rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!'"	10 So then: command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there.
11 Yes, with stammering lips and in a strange language he will speak to this people	11 For with the speech of lips and with a different language, he will speak to this people.
12 to whom he said: This is the resting place, give rest to the weary; Here is repose-- but they would not listen.	12 He said to them: “This is my rest. Refresh the weary,” and, “This is my refreshment.” And yet they were unwilling to listen.
13 So for them the word of the LORD shall be: "Command on command, command on command, Rule on rule, rule on rule, here a little, there a little!" So that when they walk, they stumble backward, broken, ensnared, and captured.	13 And so, the word of the Lord to them will be: “Command, and command again; command, and command again; expect, and expect again; a little here, and a little there,” so that they may go forward and fall backward, and so that they may be broken and ensnared and captured.
14 Therefore, hear the word of the LORD, you arrogant, who rule this people in Jerusalem:	14 Because of this, listen to the word of the Lord, you mocking men, who lord it over my people who are at Jerusalem.
15 Because you say, "We have made a covenant with death, and with the nether world we have made a pact; When the overwhelming scourge passes, it will not reach us; For we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have found a hiding place,"--	15 For you have said: “We struck a deal with death, and we formed a pact with Hell. When the inundating scourge passes through, it will not overwhelm us. For we have placed our hope in lies, and we are protected by what is false.”
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; he who puts his faith in it shall not be shaken.	16 For this reason, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will set a stone within the foundations of Zion, a tested stone, a cornerstone, a precious stone, which has been established in the foundation: whoever trusts in him need not hurry.
17 I will make of right a measuring line, of justice a level.-- Hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters shall flood the hiding place.	17 And I will establish judgment in weights, and justice in measures. And a hailstorm will overturn hope in what is false; and waters will inundate its protection.
18 Your covenant with death shall be canceled and your pact with the nether world shall not stand. When the overwhelming scourge passes, you shall be trampled down by it.	18 And your deal with death will be abolished, and your pact with Hell will not stand. When the inundating scourge passes through, you will be trampled down by it.
19 Whenever it passes, it shall take you; morning after morning it shall pass, By day and by night; terror alone shall convey the message.	19 Whenever it passes through, it will take you away. For, at first light of morning, it will pass through, in the day and in the night, and vexation alone will make you understand what you hear.
20 For the bed shall be too short to stretch out in, and the cover too narrow to wrap in.	20 For the bed has been narrowed, so much so that one alone would fall out, and the short blanket is not able to cover two.
21 For the LORD shall rise up as on Mount Perazim, bestir himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, To carry out his work, his singular work, to perform his deed, his strange deed.	21 For the Lord will stand, just as at the mountain of divisions. He will be angry, just as in the valley which is in Gibeon, so that he may accomplish his work, his strange work, so that he may complete his work, his work which is foreign even to him.
22 Now, be arrogant no more lest your bonds be tightened, For I have heard from the Lord, the GOD of hosts, the destruction decreed for the whole earth.	22 And now, do not be willing to mock, lest your chains be tightened. For I have heard, from the Lord, the God of hosts, about the consummation and the abridgement concerning the entire earth.
23 Give ear and hear my voice, pay attention and listen to what I say:	23 Pay close attention, and listen to my voice! Attend and hear my eloquence!
24 Is the plowman forever plowing, always loosening and harrowing his land for planting?	24 Would the plowman, after plowing all day so that he may sow, instead cut open and hoe his soil?
25 When he has leveled the surface, does he not scatter gith and sow cumin, Put in wheat and barley, with spelt as its border?	25 Will he not, when he has made the surface level, sow coriander, and scatter cumin, and plant wheat in rows, and barley, and millet, and vetch in their places?
26 He has learned this rule, instructed by his God.	26 For he will be instructed in judgment; his God will teach him.
27 Gith is not threshed with a sledge, nor does a cartwheel roll over cumin. But gith is beaten out with a staff, and cumin crushed for food with a rod.	27 For coriander cannot be threshed with a saw, and a cartwheel cannot revolve over cumin. Instead, coriander is shaken out with a stick, and cumin with a staff.
28 No, he does not thresh it unendingly, nor does he crush it with his noisy cartwheels and horses.	28 But grain for bread must be crushed. Truly, the thresher cannot thresh it unceasingly, and the cartwheel can neither disrupt it, nor break it with its surface.
29 This too comes from the LORD of hosts; wonderful is his counsel and great his wisdom.	29 And this has gone forth from the Lord, the God of hosts, so that he may accomplish his miraculous plan and magnify justice.